


Brothers

by 18lzytwner



Series: Supergirl Second Series [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-01-03 12:02:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 24,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21179105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/18lzytwner/pseuds/18lzytwner
Summary: The events of Crisis are in motion but first there are some family matters to deal with - and this time it's not the Danvers' sisters.  Story takes place leading up to Crisis/possible post Crisis.  Alex/Kelly.  Second of new series.





	1. Chapter 1

_"A crisis is imminent. Someone is coming. Someone far, far more powerful than myself. I mean to prepare. I'm testing universes to find one I hope strong enough to stand against him, in the hope of finding the champions that would save the multiverse entire."_ The words echoed in Kara's head and she sprung up in bed. Why the Monitor's words were coming to her now in a dream didn't seem to make sense. She had not heard from Barry or Oliver in a long while and began to wonder if she should grab her inter-dimensional portal device. The Maiden of Might didn't get that chance as her phone rang.

"Alex what's up?" The blonde quickly answered the phone.

"Ricky just called me. They picked something odd up on the scanners. See you at the office in five?" The redhead responded.

"See you then," Kara said before hanging up and quickly getting her suit on. Out the window in a flash, the words that had woken her up were temporarily forgotten.

"What have we got Ricky?" Supergirl asked as she was met by the young technician at the balcony.

"Something funky," he said.

"And it couldn't wait until the morning because…" Kara was hoping he'd get to the point.

"Because we're in the funky business?" Ricky smirked.

"I'll give you that. So what funky are we talking about? Brainy leave a pair of socks on the radiator or…" the blonde trailed off.

"Nope, unauthorized entrance in a warehouse on the military base nearby. Problem is, the alarm went off, but no one was seen going in or coming out. The security footage doesn't show anything so I wondered if maybe an alien…" Ricky let the thought hang there.

"Ok now we're getting somewhere. Anything missing from the warehouse?" Kara wanted to know.

"Inventory is being taken right now. Thing is this isn't the first time the alarm went off. In fact, third time this week, and all around this time of the morning," Ricky explained.

"Couldn't wait for me huh?" Alex asked.

"Sorry, Supergirl was wondering why I shook her out of bed," the young technician said.

"Seems like he's onto something. Who breaks into a warehouse on a military base and doesn't take anything?" Kara wondered.

"Yeah that doesn't seem right at all…" Alex frowned.

"What if whoever we're looking for is casing the place and just punching in the wrong alarm code?" Ricky asked.

"But they don't show up on the security cameras…" Kara narrowed her eyes.

"I know what you're thinking," Alex could tell by the look on her face.

"Shape shifter or Morae. Although I thought that all of the Morae were accounted for," Kara frowned.

"I think you and I better head out there. Ricky, mind the store," Alex said.

"Aye, aye Captain," Ricky smirked and plunked himself back down in his seat.

"That boy is a little weird," Kara chuckled.

"Yup but he's good at what he does," Alex smiled. They headed down to the garage and Alex climbed on her motorcycle.

"Wait for me this time?" the redhead asked.

"Always," Kara winked before heading off toward the base.

To Be Continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"Supergirl!" The private watching the warehouse door dropped his clipboard. The name "Rees" was on his shirt.

"At ease, I'm just here to make sure everything is ok. Heard the alarm," the blonde smiled.

"Yes ma'am, of course, ma'am," Rees reached down and grabbed his clipboard and by then Alex was standing next to Supergirl.

"Ma'am!" This private was particularly nervous or maybe just sleep deprived.

"At ease, soldier. I'm Director Danvers, here for the Colonel. He knows I'm coming and that Supergirl was coming along," Alex told him.

"Yes ma'am. The Colonel is inside overseeing the inventory search," Rees said. Alex nodded and he stood out of the way to let the ladies pass. They walked inside the warehouse and were greeted by an older gentleman, who had obviously served a long time in the Army.

"Director Danvers, I presume," Colonel Silver stuck out a hand.

"Correct Colonel," Alex shook his hand.

"Supergirl, glad that you could take the time to come out. I'm sure you have bigger fish to fry," the Colonel extended his hand to the blonde.

"Not when something involves the brave soldiers under your command comes up," Kara shook his hand.

"Well it seems like a waste and probably time to call the alarm company. Something is not right with the sensors," Silver shook his head. Kara took a look around, using her x-ray vision.

"Not entirely, Colonel. While the cameras at the entrance didn't catch anyone, the person who was here, left some evidence behind," the blonde said. She walked over to a scrapped F-15 fighter jet. It looked like it was just being used as a training module now. The landing gear now longer had wheels but blocks and the cover was open, dust collected inside the cockpit. Easily but carefully, Kara moved the plane across the floor, just enough to make room for a couple of human beings.

"What did you find?" Alex asked.

"A second entrance, much too small for anyone in the military," the blonde hooked her nails into a crack in the metal wall paneling and gently peeled back the paneling. It had been cut with a laser or something.

"What the…" Colonel Silver couldn't believe it.

"Definitely dealing with a shape shifter," Alex shook her head.

"A shape shifter?" Silver asked.

"Someone that is definitely in my purview to catch," Kara frowned.

"I agree. So how do you think they are gaining access the base?" Silver wanted to know.

"A shape shifter can change forms into anything. Something as small as a fly and as large as an elephant," the blonde quickly explained.

"So the fly gains access to the warehouse and doesn't set off the alarm until it transforms into something else," the Colonel said.

"Exactly. My guess is our shape shifter is trying to search this warehouse looking for something it needs. What do you store here?" Alex wanted to know.

"Fighter jet parts, motor pool parts, tools, welding equipment, and miscellaneous things that need to not be left lying around…" Silver trailed off.

"We're going to need a list. I have clearance to see anything that is stored in this warehouse," Alex said.

"File a full request with the base commander and I'll send over the list," Silver nodded.

"Will do. In the meantime, has anything been found to be missing?" The redhead wanted to know.

"Nothing yet. Perhaps the visits were just to scope out the warehouse and cut the hole in the wall. I'll get my men to patch it right away," the Colonel said.

"No, don't. Three times this week our perpetrator has broken in and gotten away with it. Doesn't mean he won't try again. His hole being left alone, will tell him that he's been getting away with it and can continue to do so. Time for stake out," Kara suggested.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex had put a call into J'onn and he quickly made his way to the base the next day at the pre-arranged meeting time. They would need his input to help catch the shape shifter and possibly his mental powers. At first, the Colonel was not exactly thrilled about the Martian joining the party but he understood. More unauthorized people on the base made him nervous and J'onn could sense that. Perhaps though, it was more about the fact that they had found what was missing. This time the thief had stolen tools and some metal parts – luckily, no highly classified parts – but the parts that were missing where sitting right next to the highly classified parts.

"So are we thinking a White Martian or something we haven't met yet?" Kara asked her friend. They were surveilling from the roof of a nearby building.

"Could be a White Martian but it doesn't seem like their MO. It's too neat and tidy," J'onn commented.

"They are usually more 'bull in the china shop' types but there have been a few who were smarter than that," Kara said.

"True but I don't know of any other shape shifters in the area. We could be dealing with something else altogether," J'onn frowned.

"Like what?" The blonde wondered.

"I don't know. I have this bad feeling that I can't shake," he said. Kara nodded; she could understand his uneasiness. Once again she'd been bothered by the Monitor's words. She definitely needed to reach out to Barry and Oliver. Heck, even Kate might know more. Batwoman was new to the hero world but she was also very smart and had access to lots of equipment that was useful to everyone.

"You seem a million miles away. Everything ok?" J'onn asked.

"I'm not sleeping well. Too many things on my mind I guess," Kara admitted.

"Your day job causing trouble?" He wondered.

"Lena just rented out the floor below to a new company called Obsidian North. They are the people who make those augmented reality contact lenses. There is talk of them asking Lena to purchase CatCo.," she told him.

"Why would they want to do that?" J'onn was confused. So far, the company had only been testing their lenses at Noonan's. Making menus pop off the signs and allowing people to order from their seats. Kara had not been happy with them when he had met up with her, Alex, and Kelly for breakfast the other day.

"No idea but I can't imagine Lena caving into an offer but she's been awfully busy lately and we haven't been able to catch up," she told him.

"Maybe you two should make time. Kelly just got an interview at Obsidian North," J'onn told her.

"She did? Alex didn't say anything," Kara gave him a look. He was about to explain when he noticed something.

"Showtime," the Martian said. He pointed down to the warehouse. There at the cutout in the wall was a small blonde girl. They both knew that there was no way she could have made her way onto the base. The girl pulled open the small hatch before disappearing inside. In order to catch the suspect, the interior alarms had been disabled. So the two heroes flew down to the building and in through an open window near the roof.

"We know you're in here," Supergirl announced. J'onn landed on the ground and tried to mentally find the suspect while the Maiden of Might used her x-ray vision to sweep through the racks. Suddenly, J'onn grabbed his head and shouted in pain, holding his head. Kara went to him and tried to help him. There only a few feet in front of him was a White Martian but suddenly the suspect shifted again and disappeared. J'onn let go of his head and opened his eyes.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Kara asked him.

"We have to get back to the DEO," was all he said.


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell happened out there?" Alex asked as her sister and J'onn arrived back at the DEO. The redhead met them at the glass doors and the three walked back to the main hub.

"We're dealing with more than just a shape shifter," the Martian told her.

"Something that the two of you couldn't handle?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"More like someone. The shape shifter changed into a white Martian and then shifted again and disappeared," Kara said and quickly relayed the rest of what had happened.

"So we have a White Martian breaking into a military base. Why? Also, why did he not fight you?" Her sister was confused.

"Psychically, I felt something and it messed with my head. White Martians are not known for their head games. He is working with someone but I can't figure out whom. They have to have powers much more powerful than just the White Martian," J'onn spoke up.

"So this partner was probably helping the White slip onto the base by messing with the soldiers' heads. All of that for metal parts?" Alex didn't like where this was heading.

"Sounds like they are up to something bigger," Brainy moved from his seat at the computers. He'd been absorbing everything that had been talked about.

"Worse still, they are strong enough to block a Martian psychically. Not many have that mental capacity," he continued.

"I could feel this presence. It felt familiar and yet foreign. I have never felt something like that before," J'onn admitted.

"Well it's safe to say that our White won't be back at the warehouse. His secret discovered, he'll look elsewhere to get what he needs," Alex said.

"Yes, I'm afraid we just made him harder to catch," Kara frowned.

"Compile a list of everything that was stolen from the warehouse. I want to know what they could be used for together and apart," Alex turned to Brainy.

"On it," he nodded.

"In the meantime, I guess we're stuck waiting until the White shoes his ugly mug again," the redhead heaved a sigh.

"I must try and probe my own mind for something I may have missed during the encounter. Maybe I can try and get you something more to go on," J'onn said.

"Good idea. Why don't you use the training room? It'll be nice and quiet," Alex suggested. J'onn nodded before heading off to the training room. The redhead out her elbows down on the center table and rubbed her temples.

"You ok?" Kara asked.

"Lack of sleep probably. I don't like having a White Martian out there running around. It makes me nervous," Alex shook her head.

"Why aren't you sleeping? I would have thought that you and Kelly would be keeping each other company, would have tuckered you out. Don't deny it. You two have been hanging out quite a bit lately and it's not because of James," Kara had a smirk on her face.

"I… all right. Kelly and I are enjoying our time together," Alex smiled.

"Good for you. She just got an interview at Obsidian North, J'onn tells me," the blonde said.

"Kelly says it went well and she has another meeting scheduled for later this morning. It could be the break she needs and then she'll stay here in National City," her sister explained.

"Even better then. Let me know if you find anything else out. James says he wants to have a meeting in a few hours and I can't be late," Kara told her.

"Good luck. We'll keep you posted," Alex smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

"I've called this meeting because our owner, Lena Luthor, wanted to talk to the main staff. Before you ask, no, I don't know what about. She'll be here in an hour and I want everyone to make sure they're available. I'm sure whatever she has to say it is important. Now what do we have on tap today?" James wanted to know. He figured he should have left the announcement until the end but by then Lena might be there. Sometimes their morning meetings only lasted twenty minutes and sometimes they lasted close to an hour.

When the meeting wrapped twenty-five minutes later, Kara and Nia hung back. James directed them to his office and the three quickly moved there to have a private conversation.

"What do you think Lena's up to?" Nia asked.

"The rumors of her selling CatCo. can't be true," Kara said.

"I have no idea, but she doesn't usually call a meeting that she wants the entire writing staff at either," James admitted, checking his watch. The raven-haired woman would be in the office in thirty minutes.

"Well now is the best time to update you. There is a White Martian on the loose and J'onn is concerned that it's partnered with someone to steal things off the military base. I think J'onn and I thwarted the latest attempt, but we may have just run him underground," Kara explained before giving the full story.

"That doesn't sound good. I thought we'd scared off all of the White Martians," James shook his head.

"As did I but I can't help thinking that this is somehow tied to something bigger. I just don't know. I've been wanting to visit Barry or Oliver, but I haven't really had the time," Kara said. Nia gave her a look. She had been brought up to speed on the fact that the men she mentioned were on a different Earth, but she'd never met them.

"The Monitor?" James wondered.

"I had a weird dream the other night and I don't think that the pot stickers caused it either," the blonde shook her head.

"Maybe I could help with that?" Nia wondered.

"That would be great," Kara smiled at her friend. There was a knock on the door, and they all turned to see Lena standing there. They smiled at the raven-haired woman and James bade her to enter.

"A meeting of the minds?" Lena asked making sure the door closed behind her.

"The usual, trouble in River City," Kara smirked.

"Ah that kind of meeting. You'll have to fill me in but first before I speak to the staff, I suppose I should speak to you first," Lena heaved a sigh.

"You're selling CatCo., aren't you?" Kara asked.

"Obsidian North is owned by one of my boarding school friends, Andrea Rojas. She approached me about buying CatCo.," Lena nodded.

"Are you seriously considering her offer?" James gave her a look.

"Well Lex's troubles have once again caused L Corp to need to pay for things…" their friend looked upset.

"Oh Lena. I'm sorry," Kara gave her a hug. Once again, the woman was paying for her brother's transgressions.

"I appreciate it but don't hug me until we see how this goes. Andrea should be here tomorrow for a full day of shadowing and I wanted to let everyone know. It's only fair plus I'd like to see the interaction between the staff and Andrea. If it doesn't seem like a fit, then I worry about getting the money somewhere else," Lena told them.

"Let's announce it to the team and see what happens," James smiled slightly. Kara knew that look on his face. He had been running CatCo. for a while now. A new boss could mean that he couldn't run the media outlet how he liked. She didn't blame him, but they all wanted to help Lena. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad. Then her phone went off. The blonde picked it up without looking. Everyone waited until she was off the phone.

"Nia and I need to go. J'onn is having one of those feelings…" Kara trailed off.

"Oh not good," James shook his head.

"Feelings?" Lena asked.

"Like there's another Martian in the area," Kara said.


	6. Chapter 6

"What do we have?" Kara asked as she and Nia walked in through the DEO balcony door. She'd given Nia a ride, something that the young woman was all too happy to experience.

"You took the Supergirl express," Brainy chuckled as he greeted them.

"I felt a little silly asking but it just made the most sense," Nia blushed. The group made their way to the main computer hub, where Alex was standing.

"What we have is something that J'onn is being cryptic about. Dreamer, I think we're going to need your special skills on this one," the redhead admitted.

"He can't tell you what is going on?" Nia asked.

"There is some sort of block on his memories. The being that he senses seems familiar but as we're all aware, there shouldn't be any other Green Martians left, now that M'yrnn is gone," Alex shook her head.

"Right. Where is he?" Nia wanted to know.

"In the training room," the elder Danvers sister said. Nia quickly headed off and Kara turned to her sister.

"So, what do you need from me?" The blonde asked.

"The second that J'onn makes a breakthrough, I need you on this Martian. We still don't know what the White Martian is up to and I don't want to find out the hard way," Alex admitted.

"Too late!" Ricky shouted from his seat at the computer bank.

"What's going on?" Alex wanted to know.

"We've got a report of a T-Rex at the Lost World of Krypton museum," Ricky told them.

"That's our shape shifter!" Kara took off toward the balcony while Alex dispatched a team and told J'onn to go after Kara.

Supergirl landed at the entrance to the museum as a crowd of people came running out of the building in order to get away from the prehistoric beast. The roar sounded like something out of Jurassic Park and she flew inside to fight the creature. There, larger than life, was the T-Rex, stomping around and scaring the civilians that were either stuck in the building.

Kara charged into the space and landed a solid punch on the dinosaur's jaw. Its large teeth grabbed ahold of her cape and flung her into a banner. She landed and realized that the banner showed Lex Luthor. Kara gagged and bile rose in her throat. Shaking it off, she tried to go after the T-Rex only to realize her cape was a disaster. The dinosaur seemed to sense that she was off her game and made a move. He didn't get far though as J'onn busted through the museum's entrance. The Martian tried to slam into the creature, but he was knocked down by an invisible force. He screamed and dropped down to his knees. The T-Rex suddenly shrunk back down into a little girl. Kara made a move toward J'onn as the girl jumped into the pod that brought her cousin to Earth. Shocked, she watched as the pod took off through the glass wall and disappeared.

"J'onn! Are you ok?" Kara asked. He seemed to come out of whatever had dropped to the ground.

"That was definitely a Green Martian. Why would he want the pod?" J'onn shook his head.

"I don't know. Let's get you back to the DEO. We need to get you checked out," Kara told him.

"Can you fly with your cape that way?" He asked.

"We won't have to find out. The team Alex sent is here," the blonde smiled at him. His concern was a good one. There was another Green Martian out there and they had shown no concern about who they hurt to get what they wanted. They had to find the two Martians and fast.


	7. Chapter 7

"What would stealing a Kryptonian pod do for him?" Alex asked as she and Brainy met up with the others in the medical lab. J'onn was getting checked out and Kara was pacing, trying to think. Nia had missed out on the battle but she'd made a beeline for the medical lab when the two had arrived back.

"Well it isn't for a joy ride. Our pods were designed to use anti-matter for propulsion. Between the stolen parts at the military base and the pod…" Kara stopped pacing and shook her head. She didn't like where her mind was going.

"Our Martian could be forming a bomb," Brainy's mind went to where the blonde's had gone.

"Can that be done?" Alex gave him a look.

"You'd need great skill and enormous resources. If we weren't sure that a Martian stole it, I'd swear that Lex Luthor was behind this," Brainy shook his head before heading toward Kara. The mention of Luthor's name and the crazy goings on just got Alex's back up. Lex was locked up at a secure DEO facility. Kara had been right. Once the unstable form of Black Kryptonite had worn off, Lex had become severely ill. The tests that the DEO had run discovered that cancer was spreading throughout his entire body. There was nothing that could be done to stop it. Lena had asked to visit her brother one final time before he died and the wish had been granted but even as he stared death down, Lex would not give his sister what she had wanted, closure.

"How much damage could an anti-matter bomb do?" The redhead wanted to know.

"It would be strong enough to destroy all life across three solar systems," the words just rolled off of Brainy's tongue like he was ordering a pizza. Alex let out a loud breath and Kara's eyes went wide, while Nia looked like she was going to vomit. J'onn was trying to wrap his head around the comment as Brainy continued,

"We face an even graver problem; Supergirl's cape has been severely damaged by that enhanced T-Rex."

"Yes because that gets my mind off of the possible destruction of three solar systems," Alex gave him a look.

"This is no time for sarcasm, no matter how dry or well-crafted! Her cape is uniquely suited for high-speed superhero maneuvers. Believe me, when a Farfarmniflatch is pursuing you across the poisonous pits of Takron-Galtos, you will wish for those heady days of old when your cape allowed you for an easy sharp right turn. Oh yes! I will repair your cape and we will forget this sartorial disaster even occurred," with that Brainy walked out of the room, leaving his friend thoroughly confused at his outburst.

"Is he ok?" J'onn asked.

"I would say 'no' but at the moment, he's not wrong. If there's a bomb being built out there that will do what we think it will do, we need everyone at full strength," Kara said.

"Well then we better let Nia get back to helping you," Alex said, turning to J'onn.

"Yes, let's do that. The sooner I figure out why I can't feel this other Green Martian, the better," he said.

"I got the tea you mentioned from your office. Let's go into the training room and get this all sorted out," Nia smiled at him. Quickly, the two headed off leaving the Danvers sisters alone.

"Do you think Lex still has someone on the outside?" Alex asked. Her phone buzzed in her pocket but she ignored it.

"Who would work with Martians? No. A bomb does seem like the most extreme option but I have no idea why else they would be stealing parts from the military base or the pod," Kara said. Alex nodded and fished out her phone.

"Kelly got the job working for Obsidian North," Alex had a tight smile. Kara was going to ask her why when Ricky came into the medical lab and interrupted them.

"Director Danvers, it's all over the news! Your sister won the Pulitzer!" Kara's eyes went wide.

"I better go," she said, knowing that James would need her back at CatCo. despite the possible pending disaster. She had no idea that a disaster of a different kind was occupying her boss's time.


	8. Chapter 8

"What's going on?" Kara asked as she approached some of her co-workers. They had gathered outside of James' office watching as the leader of CatCo. argued with some woman that no one recognized.

"This lady was inside James' office when he and I came back from lunch this afternoon. Things started off nice and now…" Sally, James' new secretary, let the sentence hang there.

"Anyone call Lena?" A second co-worker, Jeff, wanted to know.

"You call Lena and I'll see if I can't help James out," Kara said.

"You sure you want to do that?" Sally gave her a look.

"I just found out that I won the Pulitzer. That should be enough to disrupt the trouble in there," the blonde smiled and boldly opened the door into her boss' office. The two people who were arguing stopped and turned, surprised they were being interrupted. Kara's other co-workers scattered so it didn't look like they'd been eavesdropping instead of working.

"Good news! I've won the Pulitzer. That should bring the cost of CatCo. up, much to potential buyers' chagrin," Kara announced. James smirked and the blonde knew that the woman with whom he'd been arguing was none other than Andrea Rojas.

"You think highly of yourself, don't you?" Andrea spoke up without introducing herself.

"As she should," the voice made them all focus on the door and there stood Lena. Kara couldn't believe how fast that her friend had gotten here considering Sally must have only called her a few moments before.

"Lena," Andrea started.

"Imagine my surprise when I come over to congratulate my friend on her winning a Pulitzer and I discover that not only are you early, you've been arguing with the man I left in charge of CatCo.," Lena's words cut her boarding school friend off before she could say anything.

"Give us the room," Lena said, now turning to her friends. They both just nodded and quickly left the room.

"What was that all about?" Kara asked once the door was closed.

"First, you won a Pulitzer?" James ignored her question.

"Apparently, my article was good enough. I haven't exactly checked my e-mail so I can't tell you more than that," the blonde admitted.

"Well check your e-mail! As for Andrea, I don't see us getting along very much. She wants to monetize what we do. We may have more standing ground now that you've won. Subscriptions have to go up right?" James asked.

"I would hope so," Kara said as they made their way to her desk. Her words were hopeful, but she began to wonder how low the number of subscriptions was. James had been silent on that front for a little while, perhaps because he was preoccupied with helping as Guardian.

Kara quickly opened her e-mail and found the actual letter from the people at the Prize Board. They gave her a full run down on the awards ceremony and what she needed to do to finalize her winning. She was more than happy to quickly type up the reply and send it off.

"This is great but any word on our friend?" James quickly shifted the topic as he saw Lena heading their way.

"No but we may need Guardian. Things have taken a turn," Kara said but she didn't get to explain.

"James, I'm sorry about that. She was just supposed to shadow people tomorrow. I have no idea why she showed up early and then decided to pick a fight with you," Lena explained as she walked up to them.

"She wants us to fundamentally change the way we do news. She's talking click-bait and gossip. CatCo. has meant integrity and honest journalism," he said.

"I know and I wouldn't want you to change a thing. I'll find another way," Lena promised them.

"Let us help you," Kara interjected. Her phone rang and she wanted to ignore it but when she didn't answer, her e-mail blew up.

"Let me guess…" Lena said.

"I have to go," the blonde said.

"What is it?" James asked.

"There was a sudden blast of energy at the military base. Something is very wrong," Kara stood up and her friends wished her good luck.


	9. Chapter 9

"What happened?" Kara asked as she landed next to her sister. Alex, Brainy, J'onn, and Dreamer were already at the military base, searching the area outside the warehouse building where the blast had occurred.

"We're not sure. I don't see anything out here," J'onn frowned. The group moved inside and swept the building.

"Well I don't think Superman's pod was used for a bomb," Brainy suddenly announced from his spot next to the unused aircraft. The group focused their attention on him and what he held in his hands.

"A Phantom Zone Projector?" Dreamer was surprised.

"I steal military equipment and a Kryptonian pod to create a Phantom Zone Projector and then I leave the projector behind for someone to find?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Why would our Martian need a Phantom Zone Projector for if he has a White Martian helping him?" Kara asked.

"Legit point," Nia frowned. There was a little rhyme or reason to what was going on.

"He had to have used it. Why else leave it behind?" Brainy didn't like where this was going. Suddenly a portal opened up, violent winds swirled, and a tall woman appeared from the void.

"There is no hiding from Midnight, murderer of multitudes!" The woman's voice boomed, causing the heroes to cover their ears.

"I am Kara Zor-El. My mother put many in the Phantom Zone but there is no need for you to take your fury out on this planet," the blonde spoke up.

"I put here there, not your mother," J'onn spoke up. At that moment, Midnight flew into a rage.

"J'onn J'onzz!" A blast of portal energy shot forth at the group as they tried to duck for cover. It was powerful enough that it pushed Kara back. They had to stop the woman but only J'onn knew how.

"Energy voids! They destroy everything they touch!" He told them before he phased away from them. The move worked as he landed in front of their new foe. J'onn and Midnight exchanged blows. The alien woman was powerful and soon had the Martian in the grips of her energy power, lifting him up off the floor by the neck.

Kara dove for the Phantom Zone Projector, the power behind Midnight's powers made it difficult to stand. The extra time it took Kara to aim and fire, allowed Midnight to escape, leaving them all bewildered.

"Who the hell is that?" Alex wanted to know – the name the woman had said meant nothing to the group but she obviously knew J'onn.

"No one actually knows who Midnight is or what planet she comes from. One day, she just appeared on Mars, to fight alongside the White Martians. She is fueled by death and the Whites were all too happy to let her loose on my people. Since our Martian is working with a White, calling in Midnight only makes sense. She would be a distraction to whatever the two of them are planning. The more collateral damage, the better," J'onn shook his head.

"Well how did you defeat her?" Alex asked.

"My memory is failing me," everyone could see how frustrated their former leader was.

"You were just attacked mentally at the museum. Dreamer has been trying to help you dig into your memories. You have to heal. Besides now that Midnight has used her powers, we've bought ourselves some time before we can strike again," Brainy spoke up.

"All right. We need to regroup. Have you made any progress on finding out why your memories are not what they should be?" Alex wondered.

"There is something blocking me. I can't get inside his head any further than I already have. We need some help," Nia told them.

"I think I know just the girl," the redhead smiled before continuing, "J'onn, you and Dreamer should go see Kelly. She may have some ideas on how to help. The rest of us, we need to figure out where Midnight is hiding."

"We also need to fix that suit!" Brainy announced before taking off. Alex looked at her sister, who was trying to stifle a chuckle.


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, Lena had been led to the conference room and Alex quickly popped in to meet her. The redhead had been surprised that the Luthor had wanted to have a meeting given what Kara had said had been going on over at CatCo.

"What's going on Lena? Everything ok?" Alex asked as she entered the conference room.

"Lex's debts are swallowing L Corp. Everything he touched after the arrival of Superman has been ruined. I don't want to sell CatCo. but I fear I have no choice," Lena admitted.

"Kara told me what happened the other day. I'm so sorry. We're a little busy with two Martians and a Midnight running around but maybe Brainy can help. He's a whiz with numbers," Alex said. Upon seeing Lena's confused look, she quickly explained further.

"I didn't come for a handout more of an offer of help. Have anything I can help with to get my mind off of things?" the raven-haired wondered.

"Help we could use! Our Martians used a homemade Phantom Projector to bring Midnight out of the Phantom Zone. We know that some of the parts were stolen from a military base, but the other parts were definitely not stolen there. Can you take a look and see if you recognize any of the parts? I figure you know more about that kind of tech," Alex said.

"I'd love to but isn't Brainy usually on that?" Lena didn't want to interfere with the other genius intellect's work.

"He's got his hands full. Kara's cape was damaged in the fight with the T-Rex and then basically rendered useless after the fight with Midnight. He's also trying to track the Martians and Midnight; we know they will be preparing to strike but we don't know when. I'm trying to coordinate with the local police to have any really weird calls to come into me," the redhead explained.

"You do have a lot on your plate. I'll be more than glad to help," Lena smiled.

"Good. Come on," with that the two stood up and headed to the lab.

"I meant to ask, has Eve resurfaced?" Lena wanted to know as they entered the lab.

"No, and we're looking. My concern is that whatever is driving her may be the same thing driving the Martians," Alex admitted.

"You think that something more is driving this whole thing? That Eve was a plant when she was working for Lex?" the Luthor wondered as they stopped at the table that the Phantom Zone projector was sitting on.

"I have no idea but her disappearing act is CIA-level good. She's been avoiding cameras and her social media presence has completely disappeared. No hits on her social security number and her apartment was vacated in the middle of the night – the landlord got stiffed on the last month of her rent," the leader of the DEO said. Lena nodded, left with more questions but not eager to press since there was so much going on. Alex smiled and left her to work and hopefully forget her troubles for a little while.

"Ok so we're going to try and get into your memories using Q-waves, but we have to be careful. Too much and we'll permanently damage your mind. Too little and we won't actually access what we want," Kelly explained as J'onn took a seat in the specialized equipment at Obsidian.

"Sounds dangerous," Nia admitted.

"Luckily, after adjusting for J'onn's physiology, I know what range we're working with. We'll start at the lowest end and work our way up," Kelly promised.

"Let's get started," the Green Martian said. Kelly nodded and got to work. With any luck, they'd find why this other Green Martian was able to avoid the Manhunter.


	11. Chapter 11

"Well this is interesting…" Kelly said as she worked through J'onn's mind. Quickly she killed the virtual reality program, not wanting to go too far.

"What is it?" Nia asked.

"There are issues with the memories. They've been altered or are missing, either because of head trauma or from when J'onn absorbed his father's memories," Kelly explained.

"I have never heard of memories being altered due to either one of those things. My mind is the strongest part of me. They only way this happens is if it was done by another Martian," J'onn said.

"The fights with the other Martian wouldn't have affected you?" Nia was unsure how that wouldn't qualify as having another Martian mess with his head.

"We would have had to touch in order to actually have him alter or wipe memories. We didn't get that far, I was blocked from doing so," J'onn's eyes narrowed he was onto something but neither lady knew what.

"What would do that? Don't Green Martians share a hive-mind? Shouldn't you be able to tell who it was?" Nia pressed.

"Whoever is doing this has been wiped from the hive-mind, which is why I cannot connect with them," he admitted.

"But you're having pain; you have to be, despite trying to be brave. The program is showing that your mind is lit up like a Christmas tree, which for someone like you, should be painful," Kelly gave him a look – she had a lot of practice dealing with people who were having a hard time dealing with their own demons.

"It is, which can only mean one thing, but it makes no sense," they could tell the J'onn was confused – something that he did not often deal with.

"What?" Nia asked.

"Fa'ra'too'rik. Long ago on Mars, two brothers, Phobos and Deimos, had a hatred for one another. So much so that it was the reason for the Green and White Martians' split. To avoid this from ever happening again, a curse, Fa'ra'too'rik, was placed upon the Green Martians. It's the punishment for brother attacking brother and causes great pain to everyone involved. I don't have a brother though or at least I don't remember him," J'onn admitted.

"I think what we need to do is to rebuild what is missing. I can do it with the program but I cannot dig too deep. If we go too deep it will basically reset your mind – wiping everything you know," Kelly cautioned.

"Do what you need to do," J'onn nodded. Nia excused herself and quickly called Alex to bring her up to speed.

"All right thanks Nia," the redhead ended the phone call and then quickly made her way to Brainy. The twelfth level intellect had holed himself up inside the lab, working on Supergirl's new suit.

"We may have something – can we track the other Martian if his brain waves are similar to J'onn's?" Alex asked.

"Q-waves aren't exactly similar. Each Martian shares a certain percentage, thanks to the hive-mind, but their each individual waves are different," Brainy gave her a look. The redhead quickly explained and he nodded.

"I'll tweak my algorithm," Brainy said, leaving the new super suit for later.

"How long do you think until Midnight strikes again?" Alex asked as they walked back to the main computer hub.

"Not too much longer. I need to finish that suit," Brainy frowned.

"Alex, who made the Projector?" Lena wanted to know, interrupting the two. She'd left the lab she was working in when she saw the elder Danvers sister out in the hallway.

"We're thinking one of the Martians why?" Alex asked.

"Then we need to find out how they managed to enter one of my competitor's labs. If they got into the lab, then they could have accessed something else…" Lena wasn't sure how to broach what she was about to say.

"What else?" Brainy now wanted to know what was going on. They both saw the look in the Luthor's eyes and knew that what she was about to say wasn't good.

"A new military weapon – handheld rail guns," Lena swallowed.


	12. Chapter 12

"Ok so these rail guns that Lena has concerns about – wouldn't our Martians used them on us by now? I mean, rather than releasing Midnight," Kara asked. Alex had quickly called her sister and the intrepid reporter left CatCo. as quickly as she could. The sisters, Brainy, and Lena were seated in the conference room at the DEO.

"Rail guns won't hurt you but my guess is that they won't be aiming for you," Alex said.

"These weapons use electromagnetic force to launch high velocity projectiles. There is no need for the projectile to contain explosives, due to the high speed and kinetic energy of said projectile to inflict damage. Depending on the size of the weapon, the projectile could potentially pierce a tank, and maybe even go through it, or make bullet-proof armor look like Swiss cheese," Brainy told them.

"Exactly. If these are handed out to an army, they would be virtually unstoppable. My competitor, EAB Systems, made the original ones which the Navy mounted on their ships. They also outfitted the newer tanks with them. So it was natural for them to progress to the next step – but it seemed like it was years away. However, they just released their quarterly report that claimed they were progressing with the project, somehow five years ahead of schedule," Lena spoke up.

"How'd they manage that?" Kara gave her a look.

"Midnight must have been the distraction," Alex said.

"You think that our Martian friend wanted to help and now while we're trying to track down Midnight…" Brainy trailed off.

"They'll be implementing whatever their plan is," Kara nodded.

"With all of their powers here on Earth, why would they go to trying to use a human weapon?" Lena wanted to know.

"We're missing the bigger picture. The Green is working with a White. Think of all the Martians they could kill with those guns. M'gann and all of the Whites who turned on those who killed J'onn's people, would be no match for that," Alex said.

"They could have just used Midnight again for that," Kara said.

"True but they want J'onn dead. Midnight would allow them to escape back to Mars with the weapons and they don't care how many people she kills along the way," Brainy frowned.

"It's efficient. Can we find their spaceship? I mean they had to get here somehow," Lena wondered.

"I am only one twelfth level intellect!" Brainy kind of blew up.

"Whoa there Wilbur, slow your roll. There are plenty of other folks here at the DEO. You finish Kara's suit and I'll make sure we add a spaceship to our search," Alex was surprised by the outburst.

"Brainy, what's going on? You can tell us," Kara wanted to know.

"I'm sorry. There's no time for my malfunctioning emotions. I have a suit to work on," with that he left the conference room.

"I'll see if I can help Ricky," Lena offered before leaving the conference room, giving the sisters a moment alone.

"And I'll be making a call to EAB Systems," Alex nodded.

"I'm going to check in on J'onn and Nia. Last thing we need is Midnight showing up at Obsidian North," Kara said. Alex grabbed her sister's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Be careful. Midnight could bring that whole building down on everyone in it. Clark is not here to help," the redhead said. Kara nodded. Fighting Midnight and trying to save everyone in the building would be tricky and an unnecessary risk.

"Keep me posted," Kara smiled at her and quickly headed out.


	13. Chapter 13

"How are things going?" Kara asked as she approached Nia. The newest Superfriend was standing outside the room where J'onn and Kelly were working to restore the Martian's memories.

"Slow. Apparently J'onn has a brother he didn't know he had and Kelly is hoping to not wipe his mind while repairing it," Nia said.

"Is that all?" Kara was being sarcastic.

"How are things on your end?" Her friend wanted to know.

"Well we're pretty sure that the Martians are using Midnight as a distraction so they can smuggle handheld rail guns to Mars," Kara kept her voice low and quickly explained the theory that J'onn was the target and they needed to keep an eye on him.

"Geez. Where is Midnight? Do we know?" Nia asked.

"Brainy is trying to get my new suit together and track her and the Martians and he's acting weird," the blonde admitted.

"Acting weird? You mean more than usual?" The brunette gave her a look.

"This is weird, even for Brainy. He said 'malfunctioning emotions', which I just thought he was stressed but he doesn't usually get stressed," Kara said.

"We got in a fight," Nia heaved a sigh.

"Oh Nia, I'm sorry," her friend said and gave her a quick hug.

"He was trying to be sweet but I just couldn't handle it," quickly, Nia explained what had been happening with the poetry and the food and everything that at first didn't seem like a big deal but had become one.

"Well hopefully when this is all over, you guys can take some time to figure things out," Kara said.

"I hope so," Nia nodded. That's when they noticed Kelly exiting the room and heading over to them.

"How is he?" Kara asked.

"Well we did a lot of work and I think we've gotten everything back or at least enough for his mind to fix itself. His mind is the most complex that I've ever worked on so it's a bit of uncharted territory," Kelly told them.

"Can we get him back to the DEO?" Nia wanted to know.

"He needs rest but yes, I don't see why not. He just can't use his powers for a little while. One slip up and it could undo what we fixed or worse," Kelly said.

"We'll be careful. Thank you so much Kelly," Kara gave her a hug. They hadn't been overly friendly, partly perhaps because her and Alex's relationship was still relatively new, so the hug came as a surprise.

"Of course. I'm glad that I could help," she said. Quickly the group went inside and helped J'onn out of the chair he was in. He was being very quiet but none of the women wanted to bother him. He had a lot going on in his head.

Kelly watched as the three climbed into a cab then she turned around to head inside when suddenly the sound of car honking their horns made her turn. There in the middle of the road was a woman in a dark suit, dark hair, and eyes that seemed to burn through everything she looked at.

"J'onn J'onzz!" Her voice boomed and shattered glass. Kelly grabbed her phone and called Alex. She didn't pick up and her girlfriend got nervous. Her focus being on her phone, she didn't realize that the cab driver had fled the car, allowing Kara and Nia to change into their work outfits. Kara flew out of the cab first, trying to distract Midnight, and hopefully giving Nia time to get J'onn away from there.


	14. Chapter 14

J'onn was in pain; between Midnight's ability to make every word that came out of her mouth cause ear-splitting pain and his already weakened state, Nia wasn't sure that they could get away without DEO help. Kara was successfully keeping the alien being at bay but for how long was anyone's guess. They still had no way to defeat her.

"Hang in there J'onn. I'll get you out of here," Nia promised as she pulled him from the cab. The windows had been shattered thanks to their foe and the surrounding buildings' glass had been shattered as well. Not knowing where she could hide the Martian, she tried to reach the DEO, they needed backup and fast.

"We're being attacked outside of Obsidian North! In need of immediate assistance!" Nia shouted into the comms but got nothing but static. It seemed the comms had become another victim of Midnight. Dragging J'onn around behind the cab, Nia looked for cover.

"Leave me. If Midnight is here, my brother is being trying to escape," J'onn urged her.

"No way," she said. That's when a familiar face showed up on a motorcycle.

"Need a lift?" James asked. He was wearing his Guardian outfit.

"I'll help Kara distract Midnight. Get him back to the DEO," Nia said. James nodded and helped J'onn onto the back of the motorcycle and hauled out of there. Nia turned and blasted Midnight with her powers. Kara hit her with her heat vision at the same time. Midnight snarled and tried to dodge but wasn't entirely successful as she caught the heat vision in the side, while Nia's shot just missed her. Kara saw and opening and lunged at the alien and punched her square in the jaw. Midnight snarled and then disappeared. Kara quickly landed next to Nia; the sounds of sirens filled the air, replacing the void that Midnight had created.

"You ok?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah. James got J'onn out of here," Nia heaved a sigh.

"Kelly must have called him. My comms are fried," Kara said.

"Mine too. We'll have to thank her," Nia nodded. The emergency vehicles had arrived and Alex was leading them on her motorcycle.

"You guys ok? Midnight made herself known, I'm guessing," the redhead frowned as she climbed off her bike and removed her helmet.

"I landed a solid punch but we need a better plan to deal with her. James got J'onn back to the DEO," Kara said.

"Excellent. I'll get the team working this scene and coordinating with NCPD and NCFD. We need to regroup," Alex said.

"How's Brainy holding up?" Nia asked.

"Oh he's… I really don't know. He seemed to have a break through on the new suit but then he kind of blew up at Ricky for which Lena smacked him upside the head. Needless to say, everyone was surprised by that," the redhead was obviously concerned.

"We better get back there," Kara said.

"Agreed," Nia nodded. Kara flew off while Alex gave a few orders to the agents on the scene before climbing on her motorcycle.

"Hop on Nia," Alex smiled. She didn't have a second helmet but Nia had powers so she was not overly worried. Nia was excited and quickly hopped on the bike. The two were off heading for the DEO.

Meanwhile, the White Martian was watching his Green friend. He was pacing and muttering to himself. Midnight had disappeared and he wasn't sure where she'd gone.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Seems my brother has managed to break the Fa'ra'too'rik," the Green said.

"That is good news, is it not? We can keep an eye on him better," the White said.

"To a point. He may be able to find us now," the Green frowned.

"Then we'd better move up the timeline," the White told him.


	15. Chapter 15

Kelly hadn't thought twice. She'd jump in to help the civilians that had unintentionally ended up in the path of Midnight. The emergency personnel had appreciated the help from the former soldier. Agent Smith came up to Kelly, once the scene was secured, and told her that Director Danvers wanted to have her come back to the DEO. She quickly agreed and was given a ride.

When Kelly and Agent Smith reached the DEO, things looked like they were completely out of control. Agents were running around while Supergirl and Dreamer were watching something on the big screen by the main computer hub.

"Come on. Manhunter is in the medical lab," Agent Smith smiled.

"How is he doing? I was hoping he'd get a little quiet," Kelly said as they moved toward the lab.

"Not sure but it won't be quiet around here until those two Martians are caught. That Midnight lady too. She's a whole new ball of crazy," Smith shook his head.

"Definitely have your hands full," Kelly nodded as they reached the lab. Smith stopped her before she headed inside. Kelly gave him a confused look.

"Director Danvers would probably have my balls for saying this, but I think it needs to be said," he started before heaving a sigh.

"What's going on with Alex?" Kelly was concerned.

"She missed your call earlier because she was trying to run down a lead. I've worked with the Director since she was just an agent. I know when she lets that façade slip. You mean a lot to her and when we reached the scene, she wanted to check on you, but she knew she had to make sure everyone was safe. Just do me a favor, let her talk to you. She's bottling something up and I think she thinks she's hiding it, but she isn't. She puts everyone in front of herself, always has," he said.

"I appreciate the insight. Are you sure she hasn't talked to Kara?" Kelly wondered.

"Kara is the one who asked me to keep an eye on her," Smith said. The psychologist mouthed the word "oh".

"If she's keeping something from Kara, its big," Smith told her.

"I would agree. Thank you very much. I'll see what I can do," Kelly smiled slightly and headed into the lab while Agent Smith went back to work.

"Doctor Rodgers, how is the patient?" Kelly asked.

"He tried giving me a hard time but I gave him what for," Rodgers smirked.

"Good for you," Kelly smiled as she walked over to J'onn, who was lying in a bed and not looking happy about it.

"They need my help," he said.

"Well you aren't going to be able to help them if all that work I did goes sideways and wipes your mind. No powers for at least a couple more hours," she was firm with him. He might be an all powerful being but she was still the doctor. She was about to ask him some questions when she heard shouting out in the other room.

"That can't be good," Doctor Rodgers said. He headed to the doorway and when he got there he saw Supergirl heading out of the glass door at the balcony and Alex getting a team together including Dreamer and Brainy.

"What happened?" Rodgers asked Lena who was quickly approaching them.

"Midnight is on a tear and the White Martian is with her," Lena said in a hushed voice.

"Where is the other Green Martian?" Rodgers gave her a look.

"Yeah… no one knows," Lena responded.

"Oh that can't be good," Rodgers said.


	16. Chapter 16

Kara landed in front of the White Martian. She noticed that he held one of those rail guns and she quickly radioed for everyone to stay back. The blonde could hear the worry in Alex's voice but the redhead gave no argument. They still had to find the Green Martian.

"She can't fight those two by herself. Innocent people could get killed," Alex said from her seat on her bike.

"Until she can disable the rail gun, we just need to wait," Dreamer told her from the backseat. Midnight was staying focused on trying to hurt Kara, which was allowing the White Martian to aim the rail gun at her.

"I have an idea," Alex said but did not wait for Nia to respond. She jumped off the motorcycle, went to the nearest DEO vehicle, and had the driver pop the trunk.

"Director, what's the plan?" Agent Smith asked as he and the other agents jumped out of the vehicle.

"The Martian is distracted. We take him down and Supergirl might be able to use the rail gun on Midnight," the redhead said as she pulled out a case for a rifle.

"How are we going to do that?" Smith wanted to know, watching her put the weapon together.

"Help me onto the roof of the SUV and then cover me," Alex ordered. Smith was about to object but he saw her determination and knew that her plan did have a chance of working. Quickly he ordered the other agents to help and they boosted Alex onto the roof of the SUV. Nia ran for cover behind the vehicle and Smith explained the situation. Nia didn't look happy but she agreed. Sitting on their hands wasn't an option.

Alex had the gun setup and she tried to get a bead on the target. Not all White Martians could phase like J'onn could. They needed to be trained to do so. There was a chance that the Green Martian had taught him how do but it was not an easy thing to do and not something he would need when back on Mars, so Alex was taking a big chance.

Alex breathed slowly in and out, the world around her slowly fading, all there was, was herself and the target. Kara was doing her best to keep the two busy and Alex was thankful for that. The Martian's head was in range and Alex squeezed the trigger.

Kara heard the shot and knew that the DEO was trying something. Figuring they weren't aiming for her, the blonde didn't move, as Midnight took aim with her using her void producing powers. In an instant, the Martian collapsed onto the pavement. Alex's aim was true and the bullet passed through the White Martian's head.

Midnight didn't seem moved by the death of her cohort and aimed her blast at Kara. The Kryptonian dove at the right moment, avoiding the blast, and scooping up the now abandoned rail gun. Kara rolled over before whirling around on her left knee and aimed the weapon at her foe. It didn't seem to faze her attacker.

"Midnight don't make me use this. Surrender and you won't get hurt," Kara said, pointing the rail gun at the alien's chest.

"So you can send me back to the Phantom Zone? I rather die," she responded. Then her words were followed by a void and she disappeared. Alex, Dreamer, and the DEO agents quickly ran up to her.

"Thanks for the assist but that was very risky. If you missed…" Kara started, holding the rail gun at her side.

"I know but it was the only way to get him out of commission. I wish it hadn't come to that, but I couldn't let him disappear with that weapon and I couldn't stand by and not help you. Besides this may now bring the other Green Martian out of hiding," her sister said. Kara nodded.

"You ok?" Dreamer wanted to know.

"I'm fine. I hope Brainy is done with my new suit though. This one is officially toast," Kara heaved a sigh. Her cape was finally torn into two pieces and holes had emerged on her left arm and right leg.

"Yeah, come on. I'll give you and Dreamer a ride back to the DEO," Agent Smith smiled.

"Appreciate it since flying will be next to impossible. I think we should get this gun back to headquarters as soon as possible," the blonde said.

"Absolutely," Dreamer agreed as they piled into the SUV that Smith had come from. He got the vehicle turned back around and pointed it in the direction of the DEO. They hadn't gotten far however, when a Green Martian landed hard in the road, causing the road to buckle, and Agent Smith slammed on the brakes.

"Call for backup," Supergirl said before rushing out of the vehicle.


	17. Chapter 17

Alarms were ringing throughout the DEO and Kelly knew that J'onn wasn't getting the rest he needed. She didn't overly panic at first because Supergirl, Dreamer, Alex, and a team of agents were out there fighting. It wasn't until she saw Brainy race by the door and into the armory that she started to get nervous. Lena walked into the lab, she looked like she had something to say but wasn't sure if she should. Quickly, Kelly pulled her aside near the doorway, not letting her reach J'onn. She knew that he'd want to know everything that was going on but he was in no shape to help.

"What is going on?" The psychologist asked.

"The White Martian is dead, Midnight disappeared, and the Green Martian just intercepted Supergirl and Dreamer. They've called for backup," Lena was sure how much Kelly knew about secret identities and she didn't want to be the one to blow the secret.

"That's not good. I'm not going to be able to keep J'onn in bed for too much longer. We can't let him try to use his powers or have the other Martian get into his head. Psychically, things are not back to normal yet," Kelly was concerned.

"Brainy is taking a team and heading out. That just leaves us and the remaining agents. My guess is that Midnight will try to strike while we're not at one-hundred percent," Lena didn't bother to sugarcoat it.

"Her target is J'onn. Can we get him back to his place?" Kelly wondered.

"I don't think so. Midnight will still come here, figuring that's where he'll be. Besides we stand a better chance of making a stand here. We should get J'onn moved to a more secure location though. I'm sure they have a spot where J'onn could be less exposed," Lena pointed out.

"A good thought. Ask Ricky and I'll see if Doctor Rodgers can help get J'onn moved," Kelly nodded. Lena nodded back before heading out of the room.

"There is no point in hiding me. If the team has run into difficulties, then I will do what I have to," J'onn gave the psychologist a look.

"No you won't. You're in no shape and you know it. I won't be the one to explain to Alex why you aren't you," Kelly put her foot down. She was stubborn when it came to her patient's care.

"Ricky said that there's a plan in place. Apparently, Brainy finished Supergirl's new suit and then managed to switch the polarity on the Phantom Zone Projector," Lena said, walking back into the medical lab. The alarms were silenced moments after her entrance into the room. However, a phone rang in the lab and Doctor Rodgers answered it.

"So we could send Midnight back to where she came from," Kelly said.

"Exactly. If she comes this way, then we'll have her," the raven-haired woman tried to sound confident but she had some big concerns.

"Then you expect us to wait?" J'onn raised an eyebrow.

"Alex's orders are to sit tight. We don't even know if Midnight is coming to look for you. That would only be worst case scenario, especially since she was fighting with Supergirl just a few minutes ago," Lena said.

"We should prep nonetheless," J'onn told her.

"Everything is in place, according to Ricky," Lena let them know and with that she left the room and headed for the aforementioned agent. Doctor Rodgers and his assistants helped J'onn up and out of bed and down the hallway behind the medical lab. Down that hall was a secure room, where no psychic energy could get through. J'onn had given them a look, knowing what they were doing but he also knew it would do no good to argue. He didn't work at the DEO anymore and he was a guest under their supervision.

"Brainy is only one minute out to help Supergirl," he said.

"Good, then let's cross our fingers that nothing happens," Lena heaved a sigh.

"Yeah that's not going to work. I've got a weird signal on the radar," Ricky told her as the alarms came back on.


	18. Chapter 18

Supergirl threw a punch, which the Martian dodged, but he caught Dreamer's blast in the back. He screamed and whirled on the young hero, only to catch a punch from Kara to the kidneys. Her second punch missed as he shifted his density and basically made the blonde's fist pass right through him. He then returned to his regular density and punched her in the back.

Kara cried out and Nia fired a shot, hitting the Martian square in the chest. He howled and lunged for the brunette. She fired again but missed. The Martian tackled Nia but Kara jumped and pulled him off of her.

The two started trading blows as Alex and the other agents wheeled up to the scene. Agent Smith had grabbed the rail gun but couldn't get a clear shot. Any attempt that didn't hit the intended target could be fatal.

"Get that gun out of here!" Alex yelled to him through the comms and Agent Smith quickly got back into the SUV. He slammed on the accelerator, lights and sirens blazing, as he headed back toward the DEO. Not realizing it, he passed Brainy and the requested backup.

The twelfth level intellect exited the SUV before it stopped moving and quickly rushed over to his friends. The ladies were certainly holding their own and Brainy was surprised that the Martian hadn't fled the scene. He was down an ally and Midnight had disappeared.

"You're surrounded! The fight is over!" Brainy announced. Agents had circled the fighters, their weapons drawn and leveled at the Martian.

"The fight is hardly over. In fact, it has just begun," the Green smirked, shifted his density, and dropped through the street into the sewers below.

"After him!" Kara shouted. There was a nearby manhole and she quickly flung the cover off. She dropped down inside the sewer. Trying to use her x-ray vision to find him, Kara swept the tunnels, but there was a problem. The older piping had lead in it. There were too many blind spots.

"Any luck?" Nia asked. She had climbed down the ladder, followed by Brainy and some agents.

"There's lead in the piping. I've got nothing," Kara huffed.

"He's got the advantage here. He's not going anywhere right now. I've got Ricky monitoring everything. Come on," Brainy said. They climbed up and out of the sewer only to find that Alex was panicking.

"Mount up! I can't raise headquarters!" The redhead shouted. Quickly everyone jumped into a vehicle, except Kara and Brainy. The blonde wanted to fly but with her cape ruined, she could not. Brainy handed her a pair of glasses and whispered instructions. Kara nodded and quickly ducked behind a building. Putting the glasses on and quickly pulling them back off, her suit slowly replaced itself. She was almost giddy when her skirt was replaced with actual pants. There was no time to get excited though.

Taking to the skies, she beat her sister, Dreamer, and Brainy back to headquarters. Landing at the balcony, she saw nothing but destruction and chaos. Rushing inside, she found wiring sizzling and snapping, sparks from downed wires, desks were blown apart. Agents were scraping themselves up off the floor.

"What happened?" Kara asked as she rushed to Ricky's side and helped him up.

"Midnight. She hit with everything she had. Agent Smith hit her back with the rail gun. Took off like a bat out of hell but left a lot of damage," Ricky said.

"Let's get the wounded taken care of. Alex, Brainy, and Dreamer are right behind me," she promised him. Ricky nodded and they quickly got to work but what bothered Kara more was that Lena, Kelly, and J'onn had not come out from wherever they were.


	19. Chapter 19

Kara helped a couple of agents to the medical lab to find Doctor Rodgers attending to his own people. She quickly asked him where her friends had gotten to and he directed her down to the room down the hall. At the start of the attack he'd shoved Kelly into the room with J'onn and then headed back out to help his fellow agents.

"Where is Lena?" The blonde wanted to know.

"I don't know she went down to see Ricky," Rodgers said. Kara had a look on her face that told him something was very wrong. Quickly taking off, the blonde shot off down toward where Ricky was.

"Ricky! Lena was standing near you. Where is she now?" Kara asked.

"After I noted the weird signature on the radar, she promised she'd be right back. I don't know where she went," he admitted. In the back of his mind, he had hoped that she'd made it to the medical lab to warn Kelly and J'onn. Kara quickly flew throughout the facility, trying to find her friend.

"She's not here!" She said upon landing back in the main computer area.

"Lena doesn't seem like the type to run," Ricky was getting concerned.

"Could she have gone downstairs? Maybe warn the people below?" Agent Smith spoke up. He had a bandage on his head from a shard of glass, slicing his forehead. The collar of his shirt was wet, more than likely soaked in his blood.

"I checked downstairs. I didn't see her. Are you ok?" Kara wanted to know, upon seeing the state of the agent.

"Just a scratch. I can see why Miss Luthor was concerned about these rail guns. I think I got a part of Midnight," he told her.

"If Lena is not downstairs, where could she be?" Ricky was not liking where his brain was taking this situation.

"Pull up the security camera footage. We need to find her now!" Kara ordered. Ricky tried to access the footage from his tablet, but he kept getting an error.

"We're going to have to head to the server room to get at it. The connection with the server and my tablet has been severed. Midnight's damage must have cut through some of the network cables," he explained.

"Go. I'll help people up here. Find out where Lena went," Kara told him. Ricky nodded and took off running. Alex, Brainy, and Dreamer, followed by the other agents from the field arrived upstairs and quickly Kara brought them up to speed.

"Brainy, help Ricky. We'll handle things up here," Alex said. Brainy nodded and took off for the server room. Kelly came from the medical lab, having helped J'onn back into a bed. She ran over to the redhead and hugged her.

"I'm glad you're safe," the psychologist told her.

"I'm glad you're safe too. How's J'onn?" Alex asked.

"Pissed that he couldn't help. He'll be back on his feet soon though," Kelly said. Alex was relieved and was about to say something when Brainy's voice came in over the comms.

"Found Lena…" his tone though told them it wasn't good.

"Where is she?" Kara asked.

"It looks like she went back into the lab to grab the Phantom Zone Projector but never got the chance. Our second Green Martian appears in the footage. Lena tried to fight him, but she was no match for him. He phased her through the floor," Brainy told them.

"What would he want with Lena?" Dreamer was confused.

"He must have grabbed her before I killed his White friend," Alex swallowed.

"He could be anywhere doing anything to Lena," Kara was upset.

"Brainy get up here. We have a lot of work to do," the redhead said.


	20. Chapter 20

Alex was making sure that teams of agents were working to get the DEO back up and running when she heard,

"I'm done sitting by the sidelines! Lena is in trouble and the fastest way of finding her is me," J'onn had had it as he left the medical lab. There were others that needed treatment. A friend was in trouble and he was needed. Kelly gave him a dirty look but didn't say anything – as long as he didn't use his mental powers for another thirty minutes, they should be in the clear.

"Yeah no. The minute he knows we're onto him, Lena is probably dead. You trying to invade his personal mind space is not a tactical advantage right now," Ricky spoke up. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised to hear him speak to J'onn that way.

"He's right. We need the element of surprise. Besides we don't know what capacity Midnight is in. Agent Smith hit her with the rail gun," Kara was the first to say something.

"The Q-wave detector could still work, I just need to scan widely and boost the signal," Brainy spoke up.

"Do it. The only beings we know that emit Q-waves are Martians so it should narrow the search," Alex said. Brainy grabbed Ricky and the two got to work

"We're going to need a connection to our satellite," Brainy said. With all the destruction caused by Midnight, that was going to be a tall order.

"Can you connect to it via the server room like you did for the security cameras?" Kara wanted to know.

"Not quickly. We'd need a speed coder to do so and last time I checked we don't have one," Brainy raised an eyebrow.

"What if we borrowed CatCo.'s satellite?" Dreamer wondered.

"Of course. When Lena bought CatCo. she would have used her L-Corp technology to enhance the satellite for better broadcasting ability worldwide," Brainy beamed.

"All right; take Dreamer and go. We'll keep digging here," Alex ordered. The two nodded and quickly headed out. The redhead turned to the rest of the team,

"What does he gain from taking Lena?"

"I have no idea. He didn't bother to destroy the Phantom Zone Projector. Instead he kidnaps Lena. Caught us with our panties down and instead of doing major damage, he sneaks in and out…" Ricky paused. Something was occurring to him and they watched as he grabbed his tablet. Kara gave her sister a look as Ricky was furiously tapping away. Alex shrugged and was about to ask Ricky what he was doing when he exclaimed,

"Found it!"

"Found what?" J'onn asked.

"Well when Mercy and Otis had managed to get inside L Corp's computers, I kind of helped Lena rebuild her security… with a back door…" Ricky admitted before turning around the tablet.

"Is that what I think it is?" Kara asked looking at the screen.

"Yup," Ricky nodded.

"Did you know about this?" J'onn wondered.

"No idea," the blonde admitted.

"We'll have to save the debate for later. It's safe to say that somehow our Martian friend found out about Lena's little side project," Alex shook her head.

"Then they must be wherever that Lena stores it," Kelly said.

"An L Corp black site. Ordinarily, the coordinates would only be known to Lena and the scientists and engineers working on it but…" a few more strokes of the keyboard and Ricky smirked.

"Ok, we'll wait for Brainy and Dreamer to report back and compare the two locations before we split up," Alex said. They wouldn't need to wait long to hear back from their friends, but Kara was worried. What was Lena doing with what appeared to be a Kryptonian Pod? Why would Lena not have said something when she revealed her identity? On top of all of that, how did the Martian know that Lena had one? There were more questions than answers and that made her nervous.


	21. Chapter 21

"We have coordinates," the comms crackled to life as Brainy delivered the news.

"What are they? We have another lead on a secondary location," Alex told him. Brainy quickly relayed them and the redhead compared them to what Ricky had found.

"They don't match so unless Martians can be in two places at once…" Alex said.

"They can't. Where are they? Why wouldn't they go to the ship?" J'onn wondered.

"Ricky said that Lena and us were the only ones who knew about the location. Maybe Lena is trying to buy us some time. Though I don't know why he wouldn't just read her mind," Kara said.

"Maybe he is having the same problem that J'onn is having. We broke the Fa'ra'too'rik and then he used his powers to fight you out on the street. Perhaps that combined with trying to shield his location is using too much brain power," Kelly suggested.

"Could be or Midnight could be at the location. Without Lena at L Corp, the alarms to her black site would be falling on deaf ears or only her security teams would know," Dreamer spoke up over the comms.

"Good point and they wouldn't go to us," Agent Smith said.

"Ok, we need to split up. J'onn take Dreamer and Brainy and go to the location they found. Don't forget the Phantom Zone Projector. Kara and I will take the rail gun and have James meet us at the secondary location," Alex handed out the orders.

"Sounds like a plan but don't you want backup?" Agent Smith wanted to know.

"We need everyone here to get us back up and running. One more hit like that last one and we're done. You're in charge while we're gone," Alex admitted.

"Yes Director," Smith nodded and quickly headed off to check on the progress of the work to be done. The rest of the team quickly split up. J'onn flew out to the CatCo. building after grabbing the Phantom Zone Projector. Alex grabbed the rail gun and then she and Kara headed down to the garage. The redhead called James on the way and he promised to meet them at Lena's black site.

"Help me strap this on my bike and then we can go," Alex said.

"I can't believe that Lena would be working on something like that behind my back. I thought we agreed to have no more secrets," Kara frowned as she helped her sister.

"Well that is definitely something that you guys can work on later. I am a little surprised too but maybe after your reaction to the fake Kryptonite, she wasn't sure how you'd take this," Alex told her.

"Good point," Kara heaved a sigh.

"Look, I'm not saying you were wrong with the Kryptonite. If it hadn't help cure Sam, then I'd have to question why Lena thought it was a good idea. But dropping a bomb like that might ruin what you finally have – a true honest friendship," Alex smiled slightly before closing her helmet's visor. Kara nodded and then took off out of the garage. Alex revved the engine and headed out after her.

"So what now?" Lena asked of her captor. She'd been tied to a chair in the vacant warehouse down in the industrial district, which the Martians had been using as their new headquarters.

"We wait for your friends. They're nothing if not predictable. My guess is that they'll be here any minute," the Martian smirked.

"Why are you doing this? You teamed up with a White. They destroyed your people. Why would you side with them? What could they have done to you that deserved genocide?" Lena challenged him. She knew she probably shouldn't, but she also knew that he was right. Her friends were probably on the way.

"They spurned me once they found out I couldn't connect to the hive-mind. Instead of helping me. They deserved what they got," he said.

"Perhaps they were right to. Your hatred has blinded you to the deaths of millions. All because you got your feelings hurt. Do you realize that no matter what the hurt or feeling of betrayal, none of it was bad enough to wish your entire species dead!" Let it be said that Lena Luthor was not one to back down but even she knew that it was really pushing it – even if it was true. He looked like he was about to hit her when he stopped.

"Ah dear brother, I knew you would come," he said as J'onn materialized in front of him.

"Your fight is with me Malefic," the elder brother said.

"So you do remember me," Malefic smirked.

"Regrettably so," J'onn poked the bear and his brother lunged at him.


	22. Chapter 22

Dreamer jumped in to help J'onn while Brainy made a beeline for Lena. Untying her from the chair he told her how to get out of the building, but Lena wanted to help. Brainy wasn't so sure that was a good idea, but he handed her the Phantom Zone Projector before jumping into the fight.

"Three against one hardly seems fair brother. Afraid to fight me yourself?" Malefic taunted J'onn as they traded blows.

"Hardly. You have picked a fight with them after all that you have done while on this planet," his brother replied.

"You may strike me down brother, but you cannot stop what I have started," Malefic suddenly stopped fighting. Dreamer lassoed him and gave J'onn a look. This had to be a trap. There was something they were missing.

"What do you mean? What have you done?" J'onn demanded. Not having a hive-mind connection was seriously hampering his interrogation abilities. Malefic showed no emotion and gave nothing away. Dreamer was about to try and force him to his knees with her powers when Malefic phased through her lasso and disappeared through the floor, a smirk on his face. J'onn didn't grab his cohorts to go after him. No, he immediately sank through the floor all on his own.

"Is there a basement?" Brainy asked Lena.

"I have no idea. I was only ever tied to the chair," the raven-haired woman said. Brainy quickly went to the comms and asked if anyone could pull up the schematics for the building. Ricky replied that the system was not back up yet.

"Now what?" Dreamer wanted to know.

"Look for manholes or stairs that lead down. We have to find a way to J'onn," Brainy ordered and the three of them split up. The building was huge. By the time they found something they might be too late.

On the other side of town at the black site, Kara landed to find silence, which concerned her. Alex pulled up next to her on her bike with James hot on her heels. The redhead pulled off her helmet and looked at her sister.

"Yeah I was having the same thought," it was as if the blonde had read her sister's mind. It was too quiet and no one seemed to be questioning why they were there. Kara tried to search the nearby buildings using her x-ray vision and frowned.

"They're lined with lead," Kara told them.

"A hold over from when Lex ran the company?" James asked dismounting from his own bike.

"Could be," Alex nodded as she climbed off her bike.

"What building is the ship supposed to be in?" Kara asked Ricky on the comms.

"Building H," he replied. He then explained that they'd dispatched backup to J'onn, Brainy, and Dreamer's location.

"What's going on?" Alex asked.

"I don't have all the details. Stay frosty and I'll try and keep you posted," Ricky said. Kara looked concerned but they all continued onto Building H. No alarms were sounding. Kara couldn't hear any footsteps. She was the first through the door, in case there was someone waiting on the other side of it.

Instead what she found were bodies scattered all around the building. Quickly, the three went to check on everyone. Most of them had injuries and Alex told Ricky to call for medical assistance. They started to triage and while they did so Kara realized that the ship they had been looking for was gone.

"Midnight was here and she stole the ship," Kara shook her head.

"What would she need a ship for? She doesn't need it to move around," James pointed out.

"She doesn't but our Martian does," Alex said.

"I'm heading to find J'onn," Kara told them before taking to the skies.


	23. Chapter 23

"We have three dead here and Ricky is scanning for the Kryptonian pod," Alex alerted her sister, just as Kara landed at the warehouse.

"I just got here. I'm scanning for J'onn," Kara responded. Using her x-ray vision, the Maiden of Might scanned the pavement beneath her feet. Given the industrial section of town, the underground piping was large but not enough for someone to stand up in. The same could not be said for the maintenance tunnels.

"Supergirl, we found a set of stairs that lead below ground. It's probably our best bet to find J'onn. Are you here?" Brainy asked.

"Outside. That staircase must lead to these maintenance tunnels, I found," Kara said.

"Meet us and we'll go down as a team," Brainy told her. Kara sped inside and found Brainy and Dreamer inside the building. The former was holding the Phantom Zone Projector.

"Where's Lena?" Kara wanted to know.

"She's going to direct the back up to our location. Come on," Dreamer said. She started down the stairs and the other two followed her. They reached the door only to find it locked. Kara smirked and kicked the door in. Moving into the maintenance tunnels, she tried to use her super-hearing to see if they could narrow down a location, but she was met by nothing but silence.

"I don't like that look," Brainy said.

"I don't hear anything," Kara swallowed.

"J'onn? Do you read?" Dreamer tried but they all heard nothing but static.

"So the comms don't work down here," Kara was trying to be optimistic.

"There is a lot of concrete and rebar," Brainy acknowledged.

"What do you see?" Nia wondered. Kara nodded and once again went to work with her x-ray vision.

"Could they keep going?" She asked.

"What do you mean?" Dreamer wasn't sure she understood.

"Like all the way through the Earth's crust?" Brainy was thinking what the blonde was thinking.

"Yeah. I don't see anything. For once I'm not running into large enough levels of lead to have my vision blocked," Kara said.

"Your cousin was not wrong about J'onn but even I would have to wonder if they could truly do what you're saying," Brainy admitted.

"Well let's make a good sweep of the tunnels and see what shakes loose. I wish he hadn't gone off like that," the blonde was obviously concerned. They started to move through the tunnel system each checking as many places as they could but staying within earshot. The comms truly did not work down here.

"I agree. What of Midnight?" Brainy wanted to know.

"She got away with the pod. I can only think that she fetched it for our second Martian friend," Kara admitted.

"We hope that's what it was for. Malefic claimed that he started something that we could not stop. That put J'onn over the edge," Nia heaved a sigh.

"And they somehow disappeared from these tunnels. There's nothing down her but dust, dirt, cobwebs, and rats," Kara frowned.

"Let's head to the surface and regroup," Brainy suggested. As they grew closer to the stairs, they were greeted by a small backup team.

"Director Danvers wants you guys back at headquarters. They've got something," the agent said.

"Thanks. Hopefully more than we do," Kara smiled slightly.

"We'll meet you back at headquarters," Brainy told her. Kara took to the skies while Brainy, Dreamer, and Lena hopped into a DEO vehicle. The blonde flew up above the city, closed her eyes, and just listened. Slowly, she tuned out all the noises. One by one, the world grew quieter until all she could hear the beat of her own heart. Breathing in and out, even that disappeared – the silence was deafening.


	24. Chapter 24

"What have you got?" Kara asked as she walked up to the main computer hub.

"A lead on the ship. You found nothing on J'onn?" Alex was concerned.

"He and his brother have completely disappeared," her sister told her, leaving out the fact that she couldn't hear his heartbeat.

"Well we'll keep trying to find him from here. Headquarters isn't exactly back up and running but we have a bigger problem if Midnight uses that ship for what we think she might be using it for," Alex said.

"True Kryptonian ships are powered by anti-matter – last I checked this time doesn't have that capability," Brainy spoke up.

"Yes, the replica does not have an engine that uses anti-matter," Lena nodded.

"We'll discuss why there was a replica in the first place later but right now, tell us what we need to know," Kara said.

"I found the replica in the black site when I took over things. Lex had somehow managed to get his hands on plans for one or maybe a broken one. I have no idea. He didn't exactly leave notes on that. We do know that he trained Snowbird to be like a real Kryptonian so he managed to collect a lot of data," Lena explained despite her friend's comment.

"But he couldn't fully replicate it because of the propulsion system," Dreamer said.

"Exactly. It would seem that he had some of our scientists trying to create an engine that would fit inside the pod and have the capability to reach space. Our scientists are some of the best but trying to put a space engine into something that small wasn't exactly easy. However, there was one idea that was tracking. Ricky, can you pull it up? I'm guessing that's how you knew about it," Lena looked at the agent. Ricky turned red and quickly punched up the schematics.

"A mini nuclear propulsion system?" Kara's eyes went wide.

"Well the bad news is, the scientists made a critical mistake about how it would work," Brainy was looking at the math.

"That's the bad news?" Dreamer gave him a look.

"The worse news is that if Midnight tries to use it…" Brainy trailed off.

"How many dead?" Alex asked.

"It would make Hiroshima look like a day at the beach," the twelfth level intellect frowned, referencing the nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city during World War II.

"Sweet mother," Ricky swallowed.

"So, you think that Malefic intended to use it to fly to Mars but would unintentionally blow himself and hundreds of thousands of people up with him," Kara said.

"Yes. With J'onn keeping him busy, you need to get that engine out of danger," Alex nodded.

"Try to defeat Midnight with a nuclear bomb in the room," Dreamer said.

"Is there any way we can evacuate the area nearby the coordinates?" Kara wanted to know.

"Not without inciting panic or giving a Midnight a heads up. The area is way too big. Even if there was a way to do it without alerting Midnight, we wouldn't be able to," Brainy shook his head. The logistics were against them. They didn't have the time, equipment, nor the infrastructure.

"Ok. Brainy, Dreamer, with me. Bring that Projector. Everyone else find J'onn. Even if we manage to get rid of the ship and Midnight, Malefic could still cause trouble," Kara said. Alex gave her sister a look and Kara gave her a tight smile. Then they parted – neither one knowing what was coming next.


	25. Chapter 25

"So, before we go in there, I need to say something," Dreamer swallowed as she and Brainy climbed out of the SUV. Kara landed nearby and approached them. They agreed that a quiet sneak approach would be best.

"Good luck?" Kara asked.

"Yeah let's go with that," Nia was obviously nervous. Kara gave her a hug and whispered into her ear,

"I'm nervous too." That made the human-Naltorian hybrid feel a little better. Fact of the matter was Kara wasn't sure that she could survive a blast of a nuclear bomb that size. Even if she did, everyone she loved would be gone, and life wouldn't be worth living.

"So, what's the play?" Brainy wanted to know.

"We get the ship at all costs. Use the Projector on it while I distract Midnight. Then hopefully we can use the Projector on her," Kara nodded.

"Can we send both of them there? They'll be frozen in time, right? I didn't know it worked on inanimate objects," Nia said.

"I would assume so. Not sure anyone has tried it before but even if it blows up, it won't be here," Kara told them.

"Nia could be onto something. The vibration caused by sending the ship through the Projector's beam could cause it to explode prior to reaching its final destination," Brainy said.

"Which could mean the Projector would cease to function and Midnight…" Kara frowned.

"Midnight would be free to continue her reign of terror," Brainy nodded.

"Ok you aim for Midnight and I'll worry about the ship," with that Kara took off. Nia and Brainy made for the nearby entrance when they heard Supergirl make her entrance – through the roof. The two busted in to find the two battling it out. The ship was sitting on the ground and Nia began to wonder if the unstable nuclear engine had survived the trip it was sent on by Midnight, why the Projector wouldn't work. Of course, having been shaken already perhaps it would be best to not find out.

Looking at Brainy, Nia nodded before aiming her powers at the alien. Midnight whirled and Brainy fired the Projector. It missed as Midnight moved away. She re-aimed at them and the three began trading shots.

With Midnight distracted, Kara landed next to the ship. She intended to fly it back to the black site, but she suddenly felt a wave of energy. It would seem that the trip that Midnight put it on activated something. There was no way to tell how long they had. Kara dug her hands into the frame of the ship and lifted it off the floor. No one was safe.

Her strength was tested as she lifted the ship further into the air. She had to clear the planet's atmosphere. Any fallout from an explosion would rain down on the innocent civilians and that could not happen. Regrettably, her movements could not be hidden as well as she'd hoped. Midnight turned to see the blonde trying to leave. However, it also allowed Nia to get off a shot and hit her in the back. The fact was, Midnight was outnumbered, but that wasn't something she was unused to. She shot at both groups, knowing that she'd get at least one of them.

Midnight's aim was a little off, but her beam hit the ship that Kara was trying to get out of there. It could not handle the hit and began to fall apart which was the last thing the blonde wanted. She grabbed the portion that remained containing the engine. Kara could feel the energy growing, they were running on borrowed time.

Midnight's other shot caused Nia and Brainy to scatter leaving the window open to attack Supergirl. Kara made for the roof, the weight she was carrying, now less physically heavy. Midnight was on her and she knew it. However, the alien killing machine's back was to Brainy and he fired the Projector.

His aim was true, and Midnight screamed as she disappeared. Her scream caused Kara to lose altitude. Luckily, the Projector worked quickly enough that she was able to regain her composure and fly higher toward the planet's atmosphere. Her comms however were dead. There was no way for her to tell anyone what she was doing. She just hoped the remainder of the ship was strong enough to withstand breaking the atmosphere.

"Supergirl! Come in Supergirl!" Nia tried but was getting no answer.

"Her comms are down. Headquarters come in," Brainy said.

"We're tracking Supergirl heading for the planet's atmosphere. She must be trying to get rid of the ship. The core must be more unstable than we thought," Alex responded.

"Midnight is gone. Where is J'onn?" Brainy wanted to know.

"No word from him. Our scans aren't showing him or Malefic anywhere," Alex told him.

"Supergirl has no back up," Nia swallowed.


	26. Chapter 26

Kara flew higher and higher. She could feel the energy pulsing from the malfunctioning nuclear engine. The atmosphere was close, and she wondered if she could just fling the ship from where she was. The thought entered her head and left it almost as quickly. If the nuclear material exploded upon touching the planet's atmosphere, radioactive material would rain down. There was only one way to handle this and it was to enter space.

It was a death sentence. Clark was out on Argo and J'onn was missing. With Midnight gone, she didn't want to leave her friends to deal with Malefic alone, but she also knew that a radioactive National City was not an option. There wasn't any other way forward as far as she could figure.

"What have we got to help her? She's going to make sure that thing doesn't explode while breaking the atmosphere and then she's going to die," Alex hardly believed the words. If they didn't do something, Kara would suffocate in space.

"Her new suit is made of Nanites! The same Nanites that purified the air for her when the Kryptonite was in the air!" Brainy screamed into the comms, which caused Alex to flinch. What she didn't know was that the duo had ran back into the DEO SUV the second they figured out Kara's comms were down

"How does that help us? We can't reach her to tell her that they might prevent her from suffocating! What is the plan?" Alex demanded. Kelly didn't want to interfere, but she moved closer to her girlfriend, seeing how upset she was.

"The Nanites might buy us some time! Dreamer and I are heading for J'onn's spaceship," Brainy explained.

"She'll breach the atmosphere in less than two minutes," Ricky announced. Alex was on the brink. She couldn't lose Kara, she just couldn't. Kelly put a hand on her shoulder as they watched the Maiden of Might's flight path. Alex reached her hand up to touch her girlfriend's hand. Lena moved to the redhead's other side and grabbed her upper arm. Alex gave her a weak smile. The raven-haired woman could see the pain behind her eyes.

Ricky had a timer counting down on the big computer screen. One minute, thirty seconds. One minute, fifteen seconds. One minute. The redhead swallowed hard.

"On an intercept course. How much time do we have?" Brainy asked.

"Thirty seconds until we lose contact," Ricky hadn't meant it to sound like it sounded, but it was true. Supergirl's tracking would be lost once she crossed the radiation layer leading to exiting the planet's atmosphere.

"We're at least a minute out," Brainy said it, as if it was no big deal. Alex swallowed again. That left Kara on her own for thirty seconds. Now being a superhero, holding her breath for thirty seconds on her own should have been no big deal. But she was exerting herself. She had to make sure that ship wasn't allowed to reenter the atmosphere or damage the moon or damage the sun. Thirty seconds was an eternity.

"We've lost contact," Ricky announced. At this point, Alex was about to collapse but she knew she couldn't. If Kara couldn't make it home, the redhead had to lead the DEO forward. She'd have to take the place of both of the strongest people she knew. There were still no leads on what happened to J'onn. Alex suddenly felt all alone but she opened her mouth, needing to know.

"Brainy… Dreamer… do you have her?" They had to stay away in case the nuclear engine went off. That was the tricky business of it. All she got back was static. Alex ordered Ricky to try over the main radio.

"Brainy, Dreamer, come in," Ricky said. Again static.

"I say again. Brainy, Dreamer, come in," Ricky tried again but nothing.

"I got them all killed," Alex said. She was about to fall apart when the radio crackled to life.


	27. Chapter 27

"Alex? Are you there?" The redhead almost hit the floor right there. The voice was not the one she hoped to hear though it was good to hear it. Alex left the two women she was standing with and went to the comms radio main receiver, next to the main radio where Ricky was working.

"J'onn? Where have you been?" She responded.

"It's a long story. We're coming in," he said.

"We're? We, who?" Alex wanted to know.

"Malefic and I," that answer made the entire room quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"I'll have a team standing by on the balcony," she told him.

"A team won't be necessary. Malefic is coming in willingly," J'onn said, knowing he was missing Alex's raised eyebrows.

"Uh huh. Ok," was all she said. Turning to her agents, she could see Agent Smith with a similar disbelieving look. Alex nodded at him and he quickly assembled a team to meet the Martians at the balcony.

"How long until you get here?" Alex then asked.

"Twenty minutes," he said. The redhead only nodded – not verbally responding to him. She turned to Agent Smith. He had his team ready.

"I don't like this. We have no idea if that's really J'onn or not. Malefic has proven he's good at deception," Alex said.

"We could cuff both of them when they get here. Sort out who they are with the power inhibiting cuffs," Smith suggested.

"We may have to. I don't want to treat J'onn like a criminal but… we don't have any other way of doing it," the Director sighed. Given the fact that Malefic could invade J'onn's mind and gain the knowledge contained in the Manhunter's mind, there was no way to simply ask questions that only the real J'onn would know.

"Director, I'm still not getting any response from Brainy or Dreamer," Ricky interrupted.

"Keep trying until I say otherwise," Alex told him.

"Yes ma'am," Ricky nodded. Alex tried to take a deep breath, but her heart felt like it was going to explode – her heart rate jumped up. She was suddenly sweating and felt dizzy as she failed to suck in enough oxygen. Kelly could see something was medically wrong and she shouted for a medic just as Alex reached an open chair.

"Alex, what's happening?" Kelly asked.

"It feels like I'm having a heart attack," she said. Kelly knew that was highly unlikely given her age and relatively good health. Taking her pulse, Kelly knew that the elevated heart rate could be a sign of a panic attack. Given that Alex wasn't prone to having attacks since she'd known her, Kelly wondered if the disappearance of Supergirl, Brainy, and Dreamer had brought it on. That was definitely a major stressor which could bring something like that on. Still Alex was a very strong woman, so it was a little odd. Of course, she didn't know that Kara was Supergirl.

The medic quickly took over – getting her vitals and giving her some oxygen, which seemed to help calm her down. He wanted to have her hooked up to the machines in the medical lab but that wasn't about to happen. Ricky started whooping and hollering, causing everyone to give him a look. He cranked up the volume on the main radio.

"I say again headquarters – we have Supergirl! The nanites did their job!" It was Brainy. Now everyone else started whooping and hollering. Alex was suddenly able to breath better on her own. That was not missed by Kelly and Lena could see that maybe the psychologist was onto the redhead's little secret.

"We're about thirty minutes out. The ship sustained a little damage from the explosion and reentry. Give you all the details when we get in," Brainy said as Ricky turned the volume down.

"Can you land on the roof? We could get the mechanics on fixing the ship. Also, J'onn is bringing in Malefic and they'll probably beat you in," Ricky explained.

"Can do. You want to run that last one by me again?" Brainy asked.

"Yeah long story. Just do what you can and be safe," Ricky told him.

"Roger," Brainy said. He looked over his shoulder at Dreamer. Kara had not come out completely unscathed, but he wasn't about to announce that over the radio. Luckily, Nia had grabbed the medical kit out of the SUV. Slapping some yellow sun generating patches on the Kryptonian had made her feel better – and certainly helped her breathing. Kara had pushed the ship away from the planet and the moon but the trip through the atmosphere had not given her much time. It exploded just as Brainy brought J'onn's ship through the atmosphere. The concussion had messed up the ship's communication systems and knocked Kara into the side of the ship. Nia had pulled the blonde into the ship with her powers and the hatch had closed but Brainy was not sure if they reopened it, that it would reclose.

Kara absorbing the radiation from the explosion didn't seem to cause major damage since the nanites were trying to protect her but Brainy wanted to make sure they hadn't been permanently damaged. Diagnostics would need to be run. Of course, that would have to wait. Malefic was going to be at the DEO by the time they got there.


	28. Chapter 28

Brainy carefully landed the ship on the roof. He pressed the special sequence of buttons and the spaceship became a car once again. Kara, Nia, and he exited the vehicle, but the blonde was still a bit unsteady on her feet. Nia caught her.

"You two are going to need a radiation check. I'll probably need a shower. As it is, I'm still light-headed. However, if Malefic is really here…" Kara gave them a look.

"One problem at a time. The floor below has a decontamination unit. I'll get the boys to clean J'onn's ship," Brainy said. They moved toward the stairs and were met by two agents in hazmat suits.

"So, you figured better safe than sorry?" Nia gave them a look.

"No offense guys but you did just deal with a mini nuclear reactor," the one agent said.

"Is that you Simmons?" Brainy asked.

"Yes sir," the male agent, Pete Simmons, nodded.

"We need the ship and us decontaminated. We also need to run diagnostics on Supergirl's suit but first things first…" the level twelve intellect let the thought hang there.

"Malefic is in custody. He gave no fight. Director Danvers is speaking with Manhunter now," Simmons answered.

"No fight?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"No ma'am. Even let the Director put the power cuffs on him," the second agent, whom Kara recognized as Riley Bowers. Nia gave her friends a look.

"Yeah I know what you mean," Brainy nodded.

"I'll get a team up here. Let's get you cleaned up," Pete suggested. Kara went to move but she stumbled.

"I think I need a little more sunlight," the blonde admitted.

"I've got you. Let's get you inside," Riley smiled and quickly moved to help her down the stairs; it gave the two a chance to talk.

"That outfit can't hide your expression. What's wrong?" Kara kept her voice low as they moved down the stairs.

"Alex almost lost it in there ma'am," Riley said.

"I think you've earned the right to call me Kara, as I have said before. You know my secret. Now what happened?" The blonde wanted to know as they reached the first landing.

"She had what seemed like a panic attack. I've never seen her like that," Riley explained.

"That definitely doesn't sound like Alex. Once we get this Malefic thing sorted, I'll have a talk with her," Kara promised.

"Maybe it was just the thought of losing both you and J'onn that was too much to handle. Of course, she's been burning the wick on both ends too so…" Riley was being completely honest.

"I know. We've all been running past our capacity," the Maiden of Might nodded. They'd finally reached the door and Riley used her passkey to open the door and they headed to the decontamination shower. Typically, this process would start with all the clothing the person was wearing being removed and incinerated. Then scrubbing and bathing under the shower for at least twenty minutes. Riley helped her into the shower stall before carefully backing out.

"The nanites usually go back into my glasses. I don't have them about," Kara admitted.

"I grabbed a pair from your locker," Riley smiled. She went over to where a few clean bathrobes hung and went into the pocket, fetching the glasses. Then Riley handed Kara her glasses. She then closed the glass door. It was etched so that all the personal private areas of those taking the shower were kept private. Kara put on her glasses and nothing happened. She frowned. Pulling off her glasses, she then attempted to put them back on. Still nothing.

"Get Brainy. We've got a bit of a situation," Kara spoke up.

"The suit isn't coming off, is it?" Riley asked.

"Yeah no. I'm stuck in it," the blonde admitted.


	29. Chapter 29

"I don't like that look on your face," Kara said as Brainy, who was now scrubbed and all clean and in a hazmat suit. He was poking on a tablet and trying to understand what was going on.

"I've alerted the Director. She's on her way down with J'onn," Riley explained.

"Sweet Rao. Can't anything go right?" It was a rare outburst from the blonde, but the truth was, she was exhausted. She really didn't want to have her sister under any more stress.

"I think the nuclear explosion must have caused a reaction I was not expecting," Brainy finally spoke.

"You? Brainy? That doesn't really give me a warm fuzzy," Kara gave him a look.

"How are you feeling?" Nia asked. She too was now clean and in a hazmat suit.

"I'm tired which I think we all know is harder to achieve than it sounds," the blonde said.

"Those patches should have almost cured you," Nia frowned.

"Should have been enough to get me through to the medical lab at the very least but I feel like I was run over by a truck," Kara admitted.

"The nuclear explosion has caused the nanites to feed off of you. They are supposed to help you deflect outside forces but the energy from the blast seems to have completely switched how they react. I honestly didn't think you were that close to the explosion but perhaps it was the combination of everything that is causing this," Brainy said.

"English please," Nia said.

"Being already weak and determining that she needed them to help her breathe, the nanites reacted as they were designed. The explosion, and the energy wave that followed, however, twisted them. They won't respond to commands and are sapping you instead of protecting you," he explained.

"So how do we get them off?" Kara wanted to know.

"We need to overload them. If they are overloaded, they should just fall off," Brainy said.

"So, I'd be in my birthday suit… in the middle of the DEO…" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"Brainy, please tell me there is a way to do this in private," Nia gave him a look.

"Try the shower first. The water might be enough to push them over the edge. Even if it doesn't, you'll at least have the radiation off of you," he told them. Kara headed back inside the shower and cranked the water up.

"Tell me what is going on, right now," it was easy to tell, even through her hazmat suit, who it was.

"Director, the nanites seem to have turned against Supergirl. We're attempting to overload them," Brainy explained. Alex's left hand went to her forehead and rubbed; her suit making a plastic being crinkled noise.

"The explosion?" J'onn asked.

"It would seem so. We're going to need yellow sun generators to help her regain the strength that was sapped from her by the nanites," the twelfth level intellect let them know.

"Brainy, this isn't working. If anything, my skin feels like it's on fire," Kara called out.

"Have Lena prep the yellow sun X-ray machine. Inside and out should force the nanites off," Brainy said.

"What did I say about birthday suits and the middle of the DEO?" Kara reminded him as they heard the water shut off. It hadn't been long enough to clean off the radiation and J'onn was about to say something when she walked out of the shower, her skin, red and raw.

"Clear a path to the machine," he barked.


	30. Chapter 30

Kara had not wanted anyone to touch her. She was obviously in pain, but she tried to behave like she wasn't. Once in the lab, Lena, who was in a radiation suit, helped her onto the table. The machine would not cover her whole body, so Lena suggested that they start with her chest, in order to protect Kara's vital organs.

"All right, anyone who isn't a female, out," Lena ordered. Brainy, J'onn, Doctor Rodgers, and his staff backed out of the room.

"Kara is going to be so embarrassed," Alex said. The fact of the matter was, they couldn't take the chance of the nanites fusing with anything else or trying to burrow into the blonde's skin.

"It's nothing we haven't seen before," Nia said.

"Doesn't matter. Despite everything that she is and everything she's been through, showing off everything her momma gave her, has never been something she's been comfortable with. Well except for Mon-El," the redhead admitted with a bit of a smirk. The fact was Kara felt comfortable with someone she trusted and loved but certainly not everyone and their brother.

"Well I can understand that but certainly her sister and her two best friends would not judge her for what is happening. Nor would we tell anyone. I can understand being uncomfortable. I was uncomfortable in my own skin for years," Nia told her. Alex turned to her and smiled. They both had reasons to be unsure in their own skin when they were younger. Now they were strong women, who knew what they wanted, and were no longer afraid of the future.

"Ok, 3… 2… 1…" Lena fired the X-ray machine. Everyone had to shield their eyes so as not to go blind but that did not stop them from hearing the scream that Kara let loose. Lena's first instinct was to shut the machine off but if the nanites hadn't fallen off then Kara would be right back to where she started. The screaming stopped and Lena cut the machine. She quickly rushed back into the room, Alex and Nia were on her heels.

"Kara are you all right?" Lena asked, grabbing a towel to cover the exposed skin on the blonde's chest. It didn't escape her that she was standing on a pile of broken nanites.

"That was painful, but it worked didn't it?" Kara wanted to know.

"It did. We just have to keep going to get them all off," the raven-haired woman said.

"Ok, do it. Let's get this over with," Kara nodded. Alex whipped out a Geiger counter and checked the upper portion of her sister's body.

"Seems the X-ray machine did us two favors," the redhead smiled.

"Ok, then we keep moving. Out you two. Moving the machine and firing it up," Lena said. Alex and Nia headed back out to the group who were nervously waiting to hear what was happening.

"The nanites are coming off. The X-ray machine also seems to be curing her of her radiation poisoning," Alex explained.

"The scream didn't sound good," J'onn said.

"She said it hurt but she wants them off so, that's where we're at. I'm going to get this suit off and get her some clean clothes. Is Malefic behaving?" the Director wanted to know.

"Yes. Not a peep but that I expected," his brother told her.

"Well you'll need to go over everything for everyone the minute that Kara is ready for it. I still don't like this," Alex frowned.

"Everyone get cleaned up and then we'll talk. I promise that things will make more sense soon," J'onn promised. The group broke up to get their radiation suits cleaned and off. Scans were performed on the path from the decontamination shower to the lab and everything was clear of radiation. Agents began to repopulate their workstations.

Twenty minutes later, Kara walked into the main conference room, wearing a DEO uniform, to find Alex, Nia, Brainy, Lena, J'onn, and Agent Smith waiting for her. Everyone asked how she was feeling, and she promised them that she was better. J'onn was about to explain everything when a portal opened up in the middle of the main room. Everyone turned to see The Monitor standing there.

"That can't be good," Kara swallowed.


	31. Chapter 31

"Do I want to know why you are here?" Kara asked him. No pleasantries. It wasn't exactly like he was welcome after what had happened not all that long ago.

"The time is coming. The events of the crisis have begun. Malefic must be returned to Mars," the Monitor said.

"What? He has wreaked a path of havoc on this planet, killing those in his wake. He cannot go home without any dinner!" Alex was not in the mood.

"You seem to forget that you are not in control here. J'onn J'onzz, you have proven yourself and are worthy. You will be a great help to the peoples of the multiverse during this Crisis," the Monitor ignored the redhead. J'onn gave him a look.

"You will need to help Supergirl. Her hope will be integral to saving the multiverse," the Monitor continued.

"I will always help Supergirl. What action can my brother possibly do on Mars that will help in the crisis?" J'onn wanted to know.

"I cannot share what comes next for him. It is imperative that he return to Mars. Do not return him and all he could possibly achieve will not occur," the Monitor explained.

"You do know what he has done on Mars right?" Nia crossed her arms on front of her chest. Malefic's betrayal of his people was definitely on everyone's mind.

"Redemption can only be fully achieved by sending him to meet the White you call M'gann," the Monitor was once again being unclear. Kara was nearing the end of her rope. It had been a very long day compounded by long days in front of it.

"I will not put M'gann or her friends in danger," Kara said.

"They already are. Crisis will put them there. I suggest you do as I ask. I will not ask again," with that the Monitor opened a portal and disappeared.

"I really don't like that guy," Alex frowned. Brainy had been quiet this whole time but he finally spoke,

"Perhaps it is time we call on Green Arrow, Flash, and Batwoman."

"Yes, I need to make a trip to Earth One. Can you reach Overwatch?" Kara asked.

"I will see what I can do. I would assume you won't be going alone," Brainy said.

"No. Dreamer, you ready for a trip?" Kara smiled at the newest superhero.

"Me? I'd be honored," Nia smiled. Brainy had a smile on his face and quickly headed over to the main computer bank.

"And what about Malefic?" Alex wanted to know.

"I have no idea. Somehow if we don't do what the Monitor says, I'm imagining it isn't going to end well. What about a new suit? I can't exactly visit Earth One without it," Kara said.

"I may have something for that," Lena had a smirk on her face.

"You've been a busy little beaver," the blonde quirked an eyebrow. They still needed to discuss the whole Kryptonian Pod replica.

"Well I was going to wait until your birthday… turns out it would have been handy earlier," Lena admitted. She pulled out her phone and pressed a combination of buttons. Everyone waited a few minutes before a little metal contraption in the shape of Supergirl's crest came in through the window. It landed on Kara's chest and opened up. Slowly the suit materialized and covered the DEO uniform that the blonde currently wore. It looked almost exactly like the one that Brainy had created but there was definitely something different about it. It felt a little heavier.

"The nanites will need an upgrade to avoid what just happened with the explosion but if you double tap the left cape connection point…" Lena started. Kara double tapped the left cape point and a full helmet materialized.

"It should allow you to travel into space and avoid Kryptonite," the raven-haired woman said.

"Wow!" Kara was impressed.

"Now the way to switch back into civilian clothes is simple. You place both your index and middle finger of your right hand on the right cape connection point. It will only do this when you touch it, the nanites recognize your fingerprints," Lena told her. Kara did so and the DEO uniform appeared. Looking down, she noticed something new on her shirt – a tiny little gold pin in the shape of a bar – not all that different from something that a military officer or police officer would wear.

"How do I activate it?" Kara asked.

"Double tap it, doesn't matter which hand. Now I know that it a gold pin might be hard to remember to wear but I figured that you'd be wearing Brainy's creation. This was supposed to be a backup. Still, you can easily call to the suit using your phone if you leave it somewhere. All I have to do is install the encrypted app on your phone," Lena explained.

"Excellent! Thank you!" Kara gave her a hug. Brainy approached the group.

"I spoke to Felicity. You and Dreamer can meet Green Arrow and Flash at the coordinates I've entered into the tachyon device in an hour," he said.

"Great! I'm going to get some regular clothes. Dreamer you might want to do that as well. We can't pop out in our other uniforms," Kara winked. Nia went up to her friend and Kara took off, holding onto her friend and heading for her apartment.

"J'onn, you and I need to talk," Alex said.


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much left in this one. Thanks so much for coming along for the ride!

"How can we not do what the Monitor says? We have no way to know what effect it could have on the impending Crisis," J'onn said. He and Alex had stepped into the conference room for a private conversation.

"You're really ok with sending him back to Mars after what he's done? I need clarification on how he's just sitting in a cell. Didn't fight to be put in there. Didn't even argue. How can that be? He killed people or set things in motion that got people killed. He almost killed Kara for heaven's sake!" Alex was not ready to just give up.

"All that has happened will not matter if we fail to stop the Crisis. For all we know Malefic is a crucial cog in the process. He and I have bonded, the only way Martian's know how. He is now part of the Hivemind. That is enough for me," J'onn told her. Alex looked at him like he'd grown a third eye. She was about to blow a gasket when Lena knocked on the door. J'onn let the raven-haired woman into the room.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Kara and Dreamer are leaving from the roof in order to protect their identities. Wasn't sure if you wanted to say goodbye," Lena said.

"I definitely do. Thank you," Alex left the room leaving Lena and J'onn.

"She doesn't want to let Malefic go does she?" The Luthor asked.

"No but I don't see a way around it. Whatever this Crisis is, we cannot lose and must do everything that we can to beat what is coming. He and I have come to an understanding. I have little doubt that M'gann will accept his help. Peace on Mars has been out of reach for hundreds of years and the cause could use a newly healed Malefic on the task," J'onn said.

"Well then we don't have much choice. Can you call M'gann?" Lena wondered.

"I'll have Brainy set it up," he nodded and then the two headed down to the main computer area and the twelfth level intellect.

Kara and Nia tumbled out of the portal and landed in a familiar place – well familiar for the blonde. Nia was awestruck as she realized that the coordinates had led them to a place she'd only heard of – the Bunker, home of Team Arrow. Kara hears the familiar sound of a motorcycle above and knows that Batwoman is at the street level. Looking around, she's surprised to see the Bunker empty.

"Wasn't Felicity supposed to be here? Where are Green Arrow and Flash?" Nia wanted to know.

"Batwoman is upstairs and I'm guessing that Oliver is meeting her up there. As for Barry, for being the fastest man alive, he's late an awful lot," Kara admitted. The elevator started up and the two turned to see who it was. Kara had been right. Oliver exited the lift with Batwoman, dressed in her full outfit. Only Kara knew who she was at this point, but she had a feeling that was about to change.

"Kara, good to see you. You brought a friend?" Oliver gave her a look.

"Oliver, Batwoman, this is Nia Nal. Also known as Dreamer," Kara made the introductions before giving Batwoman a wink.

"Nice to meet you Nia. Dreamer?" Batwoman asked.

"It's easier to say than saying I can see the future through dreams and manipulate dream energy to use against my enemies," Nia explained.

"Yeah I could see that," Oliver nodded.

"So, Barry is late again huh? Where's Felicity?" Kara asked.

"Yeah Barry. I'm going to call him again," Oliver frowned. He pulled out his phone but never got the chance to dial. The elevator started moving and the door opened to reveal the Scarlet Speedster.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late," Barry said.

"Still not sure how that works," Kara teased him.

"Me neither. Felicity is out helping the rest of the team so we're all here, well sort of. Batwoman, you know all of us so it seems we should know you," Oliver said.

"You already do, well sort of," Batwoman pulled off her cowl to reveal herself as Kate Kane.

"Thank goodness, we got that out of the way Kate," Kara gave her a quick hug, which the brunette wasn't prepared for but returned. The brunette quickly explained who she was for Nia.

"You knew?" Barry gave her a look.

"X-ray vision…" Kara said.

"You…" Barry suddenly seemed nervous.

"Hey, I'm not a pervert," the blonde gave him a look. Kate smirked and it didn't go unnoticed by the Kryptonian.

"So why did you call this meeting?" Oliver was back to business.

"The Monitor showed up on our Earth," Kara said. Barry blew out a breath.

"Great. What did he want?" Oliver asked.

"He said that the time was coming. The events of the crisis had begun. I figured I'd better check in with you guys," the blonde said. Oliver said nothing but the look on his face told Barry and Kara that he knew something they didn't.

"Felicity isn't with the team. She's hiding from those that are looking to come after me. She's hiding with our daughter, Mia. I only came out of hiding when she received your call," he admitted.

"You have a daughter? Congratulations!" Kara was happy for him.

"I couldn't be happier but now I fear that happiness will be short lived," the Green Arrow frowned.

"Well we didn't get any specifics from him, as usual, so I can't say it'll be today or tomorrow that we'll need to be ready," the blonde said.

"That's his MO. We appreciate the heads up," Barry told her.

"Is there any way to plan or try to plan?" Nia spoke up.

"I have no idea," Oliver admitted.


	33. Chapter 33

Kara and Nia once again tumbled out of the portal on the roof of the DEO. No one knew when they'd be back so there was no welcoming committee. However, it did not escape either hero that J'onn's spaceship was gone.

"I'm guessing that isn't good," Kara commented before activating her new suit. Nia had changed in the Bunker so they could avoid questions when they got home. She was glad that Kara suggested she pack it. She was also contemplating getting Brainy or Lena to nanite her super suit.

"Yeah probably not," Nia nodded. They headed toward the stairs when Nia spoke up again.

"Two things – one – what is going on with Alex, and two – you and Batwoman?" She stopped at the top step.

"Whoa there. First, I don't know what is going on with Alex. I intend to tackle her once we're out of here. I thought things were going well with Kelly but maybe things aren't. She's usually tougher than that, so I'm concerned. Second, me and Kate what?" Kara, who was down the first couple of steps, turned around.

"Well she seemed surprised by your hug and she smirked at your pervert comment," Nia said.

"So…?" Kara raised an eyebrow.

"So, you just seemed pretty friendly for someone you just met," her friend said.

"She's a kindred spirit. Like you and me. Just trying to do her best to protect her city. I admire her courage. She's out in the field by herself," the blonde explained.

"And you blabbed your secret identity to her?" Nia gave her a look.

"She's on a different earth. She figured out who Oliver and Barry were. If she didn't say anything about them, she wasn't going say anything about me. Besides, we clicked. She understood family legacy," Kara told her.

"Oh, now we getting somewhere," Nia said.

"You're ridiculous. Afraid she's taking your spot?" the blonde asked.

"You wouldn't dare," the brunette said, closing the gap between them.

"I would not," Kara gave her a hug and the two had a good laugh before moving down the stairs. They reached the nearby elevator and took it down to the main computer floor.

"They have returned! How'd it go?" Brainy asked as he got up from his seat at one of the monitors.

"We updated everyone but basically we've been ordered to stay on our toes. Oliver seemed to know more than he was letting onto, but I wasn't about to pry. He's not one for telling everyone how he feels. We could have used J'onn to read his mind," Kara admitted.

"I don't like that. I also don't like that J'onn and the Director probably aren't on speaking terms. Lena facilitated shipping Malefic off to Mars. M'gann was more than happy for the help," he explained.

"Oh boy," Nia heaved a sigh.

"Where are they?" Kara wanted to know.

"J'onn and Lena went home. I just got a call from Al's Dive Bar…" Brainy said.

"I'm on my way," Kara nodded.

"Need help?" Nia asked.

"You and Brainy go home. I've got this," Kara smiled before heading for the elevator.

"So, we've been sent home…" Nia gave Brainy a sideways glance. Brainy lifted his eyebrows up and down and the two quickly scurried to the same elevator that Kara had just left in.

Kara walked into the bar and Al saw her. He jerked his head toward the corner of the bar. Kara mouthed, _thank you_, before heading over to the redhead. Kelly wasn't there, which was a little of a surprise but not entirely considering Al would not have needed to call Brainy.

"So, Al says he wants to go home, and he doesn't want you here by yourself. Not that he doesn't trust you, but he figures you sleeping in your own bed would be better," Kara spoke up. The bar wasn't close to closing but the night bartender would be in very soon and Al didn't want to leave Alex. The redhead was a regular along with her friends and she rarely ever got that blitzed.

"He called you… because… he thinks… I can't take care of myself," Alex slurred her words.

"More like he needs someone to make sure you get home ok. You get in a fight with Kelly?" Kara asked as she helped her sister off the stool she was occupying. Her sister was in no shape to talk tonight.

"No… I don't think so…" Alex said. Kara didn't say anything hoping that she was right. The blonde got her sister out of the bar and then decided it was best to get Alex home as fast as possible. She took to the skies, holding onto her sister.

A few minutes later, they landed in some bushes around the corner from the building entrance where Alex promptly vomited. Kara rubbed her back and tried to ignore the smell. Once she was certain her sister was done, Kara used her keys to get inside and they headed for the elevator, Alex leaning on the blonde.

Once they were finally in her apartment, Kara laid her sister on her bed and pulled off her shoes. Picking her up, just enough to get her jacket off, Kara made sure those items were put away. When she turned around, Alex had passed out. Shaking her head, she made sure to tuck her in. Now sure that Alex was comfortable, Kara grabbed her phone and made a call.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go. Thanks so much for reading!

Lena opened her door, given the late hour, she wasn't sure who it could be, especially since she wasn't expecting anyone. The raven-haired woman was pleasantly surprised when she found Kara standing there. She quickly let the blonde in and closed the door behind her.

"You came in the normal way, is something wrong?" Lena asked.

"I needed to do some thinking and flying doesn't really allow you to do that," Kara admitted.

"Ok so something is definitely wrong then. What happened?" The Luthor wanted to know as they moved toward the sofa. Lena stopped to grab another wine glass from the cupboard and quickly poured her friend a drink. She knew that the blonde didn't get the buzz that the rest of them got but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the taste of it.

"Well a couple of hours ago I had to scrape Alex off of the bar at Al's. She was plastered – she never gets like that. Then I find out that she basically had a panic attack when I was out in space. On top of all of that, Brainy tells me that she and J'onn are probably not on speaking terms," Kara heaved a sigh and accepted the glass her friend handed her. She took a few sips before setting the glass down on the coffee table.

"Yeah that was not good. While I could understand Alex's issue with letting Malefic go, neither J'onn nor I saw the wisdom of not following the Monitor's orders. We have no idea what is coming and to defy him, is to possibly do so at the risk of millions of people. It was the logical thing to do," Lena said as she sat down next to her friend.

"Alex and I have always talked about everything. I'll admit, not at first, but once we became close, there hasn't been anything we haven't shared. Now, I'll admit, we haven't had a lot of time alone lately so that could be part of the problem, but she has Kelly now, so I'm not sure what is going on. Kelly also had no idea but dropped everything and came over. We talked a little for a little bit before she thought that I should check in with you," the blonde explained.

"Get my side of the story?" Her friend asked.

"She probably figured I needed someone I knew better to talk to," Kara winked.

"She has no idea who you are does she?" Lena wondered.

"No, and for now, it's safer that way. Her situation isn't too much different than ours," her friend said.

"And you can't tell everyone your sister gets into a relationship with," Lena nodded.

"Yes, though Maggie knew," Kara said.

"Well they were getting married and she's a detective. I'm sure she pieced it together. The glasses are pretty good to fool the average Joe but to be honest until I hung around both you and Alex more, I didn't realize that there are little things that give you away. It comes from being comfortable in your surroundings. To be honest, Alex probably freaked out because at the time, J'onn was missing and you could have died. Earth loses one of its mightiest hero's right before the impending Crisis – it's enough to give anyone a heart attack," the raven-haired woman pointed out.

"We need to be more careful. Can't have a repeat of the Colonel Haley situation. As for being a hero - I'm going to have Brainy put in a call to Argo tomorrow. I'm hoping we have some help in that department soon," the blonde told her.

"Are you going to have to explain to him the whole 'Lex made a replica of your pod' thing?" Lena looked concerned.

"Yeah that will definitely come up. Speaking of which, how the hell did your brother get his hands on an actual Kryptonian pod? Kal's was at the museum. Both mine and Mon-El's don't exist on this Earth anymore. He never would have had access to any of them," Kara was concerned.

"I'm still digging through his files. I'm not sure how he collected all of the data. It's not exactly out there for everyone to see. He couldn't have gotten into the Fortress, could he?" her friend asked.

"Unless Kal let him into the Fortress, no. They were friends for a little while. It's possible he gleaned a good amount of information just from that. It helped that he had access to a seemingly endless supply of money. Still no one would have had plans on file for a pod. Basically, with our powers, the pod is not as important as it would have been on Krypton. At this point, my bigger concern is that if Lex found the plans…" Kara trailed off.

"They could be out there for someone else to attempt what we just had to deal with. It's possible that the Kasnian's had access but they don't have the access to scientists and to the technology. Also, I'm thinking that if there was some info, it was all destroyed when they were dealt with," Lena said. Kara nodded.

"So, are we good?" the raven-haired woman wanted to know.

"I just don't know why you didn't tell me what you had?" the blonde pointed out.

"Truth is, once I found out, I wanted to destroy it. I thought something might happen and there would be an accident and people would die. Problem was that the scientists who worked on it have disappeared. My own scientists were trying to figure out a way to deconstruct it to at least remove the radioactive material without accidentally setting it off. Lex left plans but some of the more important notes were missing – something you'd only notice if you took an actual hard look at the paperwork," Lena heaved a sigh.

"Screwing everyone around him even after he's gone," Kara shook her head.

"That would be my brother," Lena grabbed her wine glass and downed what remained in the glass.

"Well I better get back to Alex. Have a good night Lena. Can we do lunch later in the week?" The blonde asked as she stood up.

"Absolutely. Which door do you want to use?" The Luthor wondered.

"A quick flight is in order," Kara smiled. They headed to the balcony and once outside, they shared a quick hug. Then Kara took off heading for her sister's apartment.


	35. Chapter 35

"Why…" Alex barely got the words out as she vomited into the toilet the next morning. The hangover was as bad as Kara thought it might be but she did the best she could to help her sister. The blonde had called off at CatCo. and James said that he understood.

"Why did I do that to myself?" Alex finally managed after Kara handed her a paper towel to wipe her face and some Listerine to swish out her mouth with.

"I have no idea but that has to be a new record – what were you drinking? I thought Al knew better than to give you the good alien stuff," Kara had been trying hard not to gag as the smell had been awful. Her powerful nose had almost been overwhelmed. Turning on the exhaust fan, she then helped her sister to a chair, not far from the bathroom in case the redhead wasn't done. Alex's throat had to be raw after almost thirty minutes of vomiting and Kara went to make tea with some honey in it.

"He knew better. As far as I can figure he didn't give me any of the 'good alien stuff' as you call it," Alex said.

"Well I figured you didn't need a list. Now do you want to discuss what happened or are we going to pretend that it didn't? Kelly knows all about your little incident so if you don't want to tell me, you can tell her," Kara let her know.

"You called her?" Alex was turning green again.

"I was concerned about you and I thought she might have some insight. She does have a degree in psychology," her sister pointed out.

"To be honest, it was a very stressful day and I just…" the redhead started.

"Alex, I had my super suit stuck to me after a nuclear explosion in space – that was stressful. You almost had a breakdown in front of the troops and had an argument with J'onn – that is cataclysmic. You've always been the strongest person I know. What happened? Why are you trying to not admit what is wrong?" Kara was very concerned as she handed her sister a hot cup of tea with the honey in it to soothe her throat.

"I panicked. You were possibly about to get yourself killed, J'onn was still missing, and this supposed Crisis is coming. On top of all that, I had to have appeared weak to the agents. It was just not a banner day," Alex heaved a sigh, as she wrapped her hands around the hot mug.

"There is more to it. Is it because Kelly was there? You thought you were going to lose me and then have to explain to Kelly, and that was just going to be too much? I know what you two have is still new and she basically knows most of the secrets you were holding onto regarding your job… maybe… maybe we should…" the blonde stumbled a little. She had just told Lena that it was safer for Kelly to not know but maybe that was just not true.

"No. We can't tell her your secret. We've overloaded her already. I'd like to be able to spend some time, actually getting to know her. I mean she doesn't know who Nia is either. It's best to stay that way for now. Besides, Crisis may make all of that moot," her sister said.

"Then what do you need to feel better?" Kara wanted to know. Alex carefully took a sip of the tea, grateful for the soothing effects.

"Time. I just need to be able to not have all these thoughts swirling around. I need to de-stress," Alex heaved a sigh.

"Well good thing I have the day off then," her sister smiled.

"What does one do when they're worried about impending doom?" The redhead asked. Kara thought about it for a moment.

"Dumplings, ice cream, and maybe pizza," she finally replied.

"I'll shower first," Alex said, taking a sip from her tea before handing it back to her sister. This would be one of the last moments before Crisis hit and both would be glad for the distraction.

**THE END**


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